Maryland Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)

Temporary Cash Assistance, or TCA, is Maryland's TANF program. It gives monthly cash to families with dependent children while helping a parent prepare for work. Apply online at MarylandBenefits.gov, in person at your local department of social services, or by mail or fax. Benefits can be direct-deposited.

Know the real numbers, because a common figure is wrong. The maximum monthly grant for a household with no income, effective October 2025, is $339 for one person, $596 for two, $753 for three, $902 for four, adding $136 per additional person. The family-of-three grant is $753, not the roughly $862 sometimes cited.

Eligibility runs on income and household. Earned and unearned income cannot exceed the benefit level paid for your assistance unit size, so the grant fills the gap up to that standard rather than paying on top of other income.

There are obligations that keep the grant flowing. Recipients must cooperate with child support, take part in work activities, and comply with substance abuse provisions. Falling out of those can bring sanctions that reduce or stop the grant, so treat the requirements as part of the deal.

As a TANF program, TCA carries a federal 60-month lifetime limit on cash assistance for adults. Treat the check as a bridge, and ask your worker about any state hardship exemptions if you approach the limit.

TCA's cash is modest, so stack the rest. The same MarylandBenefits.gov application reaches the Food Supplement Program and, through Maryland Health Connection, Medicaid, both on friendlier income rules. And 2-1-1 tracks local emergency funds.