Texas Government Assistance for Single Mothers: A Guide to Each State Agency

Texas government assistance for single mothers, agency by agency

Many single moms in Texas assume there is one office for "welfare." In practice, the help is spread out. Each agency has its own website, phone line, and rules. Knowing who does what helps you ask the right office the right question.

Cities and counties add their own programs on top of these, such as county rent help or local housing authorities. Those are covered in our wider guide to Texas assistance programs for single mothers. If you need money within days rather than weeks, our page on emergency financial assistance for single mothers in Texas focuses on fast, one-time help.

Health and Human Services: one application, many programs

HHSC is the agency most single mothers deal with first. Its online portal, Your Texas Benefits, lets you apply for several programs on one form. You can also apply by phone through 2-1-1 (choose option 2), by mail, or in person at an HHSC benefits office. After you apply, the state usually schedules an interview, often by phone, and sends a list of anything else it needs.

Programs you can request on the same application:

• SNAP food benefits, loaded each month on a Lone Star Card. The amount depends on household size, income, and costs like rent and child care. From Oct. 1, 2026 – Sept. 30, 2027, a family of three can receive up to $808 a month. Our SNAP calculator gives a rough estimate before you apply.
• TANF cash help, also paid on the Lone Star Card. Details and amounts are in the next section.
• Medicaid and CHIP for children, and Medicaid for pregnant women.

WIC is also run by HHSC, but it uses its own clinics rather than the Your Texas Benefits application. You can start at Texas WIC or call 800-942-3678. WIC serves pregnant women, new mothers, and children until they turn 5, and getting SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid usually makes the income check easier.

Once you are approved, keep your Your Texas Benefits account active. It is where renewal notices, interview dates, and requests for papers show up. Missing one of those notices is one of the most common reasons benefits stop.

TANF amounts for one-parent families

TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. In Texas it is a small monthly payment for families with children 18 or younger who have very little income. The figures below come from the Texas HHS TANF page. HHS calls the income column a general guide and notes that some families with more income can still qualify, because certain earnings and costs are not counted.

A mother with two children and no income would see the $382 maximum. Any countable income lowers the payment. HHS also looks at money in the bank, things you own, and what you pay for child care and child support.

TANF comes with a Personal Responsibility Agreement. Parents agree to look for work or join job training, cooperate with child support, keep children in school and up to date on shots, and stay away from drug and alcohol misuse. The work part is handled by TWC through its Choices program, covered below.

Two related payments are worth knowing:

• One-Time TANF is for a family in a crisis, such as losing a job or a home, or a medical emergency. It can be used once a year. HHS does not publish a fixed amount on its page. If you take it, you give up regular TANF for a set period, so ask the caseworker to explain the trade-off. Our guide to the One-Time TANF payment in Texas goes into more detail.
• One-Time TANF for Relatives is a $1,000 payment for a grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, or other relative age 25 or older who is raising a child who gets TANF. It helps when a single mother's own family steps in to care for her children.

Medicaid, CHIP, and Healthy Texas Women

Health coverage is where Texas government help reaches the most single-parent families. Texas has not expanded Medicaid to most working-age adults, so the rules are different for you and for your children.

• Children's Medicaid covers kids in lower-income homes at no cost, including checkups, dental care, vision, and prescriptions.
• CHIP covers children whose family earns too much for Medicaid but cannot afford private coverage. Families may pay a small yearly enrollment fee and copays, based on income.
• Medicaid for pregnant women covers prenatal care, delivery, and care after birth. Texas now keeps coverage for 12 months after the baby is born.
• Healthy Texas Women offers family planning and some women's health services at no cost for women who meet the income rules.
• Medicaid for parents exists in Texas but has a very low income limit, so most working mothers do not qualify for it themselves.

You apply for all of these through Your Texas Benefits. HHSC's Medicaid and CHIP page lists the current rules. Federal changes passed in 2025 are adding new Medicaid rules over the next few years; ask HHSC how they affect your case at renewal. If you do not qualify yourself, ask about a marketplace plan at HealthCare.gov, where tax credits can lower the monthly cost.

Texas Workforce Commission: child care and job training

Child care is often the biggest bill a single mother pays, and it is TWC, not HHSC, that helps with it. The money flows through 28 local Workforce Development Boards, which operate as Workforce Solutions offices across the state. Each board takes its own applications and keeps its own waiting list.

Child Care Services

TWC's Child Care Services program helps pay for care while you work, look for work, or attend school or job training. Under TWC rules, family income cannot be more than 85 percent of the state median income for your family size, and local boards can set a lower limit when money is tight. You pay a parent share of the cost based on income. TWC policy letters describe a cap on that share at 7 percent of family income; ask your board how it figures yours.

Families getting TANF or taking part in Choices are usually served first. Others may wait months, so put your name on the list as soon as you know you will need care. You can choose a licensed center, a registered home, or in some cases a relative, as long as the provider takes part in the program.

Choices and other job programs

If you get TANF, you will usually be referred to Choices, TWC's employment program for TANF families. It offers job search help, training, and support services such as help with child care and transportation while you take part. Workforce Solutions offices also run free job search help, training funds under federal workforce programs, and unemployment benefit help if you lose a job through no fault of your own.

Child support from the Attorney General

In Texas, the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General is the state's child support agency. It can help with every step:

1. Finding the other parent, using state and federal records.
2. Establishing paternity if the parents were not married, including genetic testing when it is ordered.
3. Setting a child support order and medical support for the children.
4. Collecting payments, often by wage withholding from the other parent's employer.
5. Enforcing the order when payments stop, and reviewing an order when circumstances change.

The OAG says applying online is the fastest way to open a case. Its how-to-apply page asks for as much as you know about yourself, the other parent, and the children, such as names, birth dates, addresses, and where the other parent works. You can also request a paper application, which takes longer.

If you get TANF, you are generally required to cooperate with child support, and the state keeps part of what is collected to repay the cash aid. If contact with the other parent could put you or your children in danger, tell your caseworker. The OAG has a family violence process for these cases.

Rent and utility help through TDHCA

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs does not usually hand out help directly. It funds local agencies and points you to them. Its Help for Texans search lets you pick a type of help and a county and see who to call. The main programs are:

• Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), which helps with electric and gas bills through local community action agencies. Households with young children often get priority. Funding opens and closes during the year, so call early.
• Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) in some smaller counties that do not have their own housing authority. In big cities, the local housing authority runs vouchers instead.
• Weatherization, which can lower bills by fixing drafts, insulation, and old heating or cooling units.
• Homeless prevention and short-term rental help through local partners, when funding is open.

Housing waiting lists in Texas cities are often long or closed. Apply to every open list you qualify for, and keep your address current with each housing authority. For short-term help, 2-1-1 Texas tracks which charities and county programs have rent money right now.

Federal tax credits worth claiming

Some of the largest government help for working single mothers comes at tax time, not from a Texas office. Texas has no state income tax, so these are federal credits only.

• Child Tax Credit: the IRS lists up to $2,200 per qualifying child for tax year 2025, with up to $1,700 of it refundable for families with at least $2,500 in earned income.
• Earned Income Tax Credit: the EITC grows with your earnings up to a point and with the number of children. The IRS publishes the yearly limits and amounts in its EITC tables.
• Head of household filing status usually lowers your tax compared with filing single.

Free tax preparation is available through IRS VITA sites for many low- and moderate-income families. Avoid paying for a refund advance with high fees.

Which agency should I contact first?

The right order depends on what is most urgent, but this sequence works for most single mothers:

Applying to more than one program at the same time is normal and allowed. Each office makes its own decision, and being approved for one, such as SNAP, can make another, such as WIC, easier to get.

Papers the state offices ask for

Each agency asks for slightly different proof. HHSC usually wants ID, Social Security numbers for those applying, proof of income for the last 30 days, and your rent and utility costs. TWC child care asks for proof of work hours or school schedule and income. The OAG wants details about the other parent and the children's birth certificates if you have them. Upload copies through each agency's portal and keep the originals. Our document checklist covers the general list.

A one-week plan to get started

1. Day 1: Create a Your Texas Benefits account and apply for SNAP, TANF, and Medicaid or CHIP together.
2. Day 2: Call Texas WIC if you are pregnant or have a child under 5, and book a first appointment.
3. Day 3: Contact your Workforce Solutions office about child care and ask to join the waiting list.
4. Day 4: Open a child support case online with the OAG.
5. Day 5: Search TDHCA Help for Texans or call 2-1-1 for utility or rent help if you are behind.
6. Every week after: Check your Your Texas Benefits inbox and answer requests for papers quickly.

Related guides

• Government assistance for single mothers
• Financial assistance for pregnant mothers in Texas
• Texas utility assistance
• Low income housing for single mothers

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information. Each Texas agency sets and updates its own rules and amounts. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with the State of Texas or any government agency.