Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Programs
The federal government designed the following programs to assist low-income and unemployed individuals and families. In Pennsylvania, the Department of Human Services (DHS) administers these programs through the state’s County Assistance Offices (CAOs). You can apply for benefits at any CAO, but the state will assign your case to a CAO based on where you live.
Emergency Shelter Allowance (ESA)
Emergency Shelter Allowance is a program of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services (DHS). It assists families and individuals who are homeless or near homeless and who need financial assistance in order to:
Prevent eviction or foreclosure
Obtain permanent housing
Obtain temporary shelter
An individual or family may also be eligible for Emergency Shelter Allowance if they are leaving a domestic violence situation.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
LIHEAP can help you keep your home warm and safe during the coldest seasons. From November 4, 2024, to April 18, 2025, you can apply for a cash grant to help pay your heating bill. You can receive from $200 to $1,000 based on your household size, income, and fuel type.
The cash grant is a one-time payment. The grant will be sent directly to your utility provider or fuel company to be credited on your bill.
Are you experiencing an emergency related to your household’s heat? You may be eligible to receive additional funds through a crisis grant (PA DHS).
Medical Assistance (MA)
MA, or Medicaid, is run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). There are many different MA programs for people in different situations. If you do not qualify under one category, you may qualify under another. For example, you may be over the income limit for Medicaid expansion, but not for CHIP. If someone tells you that you don’t qualify under one category, be sure to ask about others.
Anyone who receives TANF, GA, or SSI generally receives full MA benefits, which pay for doctors, hospital visits, prescriptions and most other medical expenses.
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This is the form of Medicaid that became available with the Affordable Care Act. Medicaid Expansion allows for all low-income people aged 18-64 whose Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) from their tax return is below 139% of the poverty guidelines to qualify for full medical benefits regardless of their health condition. There is no savings limit for Medicaid Expansion.
Due to federal rules, the application for medical assistance will ask you questions about tax deductions and if you plan to file a tax return. You do not need to have income or file a return in order to qualify for Medicaid.
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The government automatically enrolls TANF recipients in Medical Assistance. If you leave TANF because your earnings are too high, the family is usually still eligible for MA for one year under the Extended Medical Coverage (EMC) program. For the first six months, you are eligible regardless of what your income is. For the second six months, the family is eligible as long as their monthly income is below 185% of the federal poverty level.
To get Extended Medical Coverage, you must tell your caseworker that you are leaving welfare for work. Don’t just assume EMC will automatically go into effect. Double-check with your caseworker, especially if you receive a notice that your Medical Assistance is being discontinued.
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Medical Assistance programs for pregnant women and young children have higher income guidelines. Pregnant women and infants can receive coverage if they have an income under the limit of 215% of the federal poverty guidelines. Children under age 6 can get coverage if the family’s income is under 157% of the federal poverty guidelines. Children ages 6 through 18 get coverage if the family’s income is under 133% of the federal poverty guidelines. There are no savings limits for this program. A chart of these guidelines can be found on DHS’s website.
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CHIP is a health insurance program for all children whose families earn too much to qualify for Medical Assistance. The state will provide you with free, subsidized, or full-price CHIP coverage depending on your family’s income and your children’s age. There is no income or savings limit for CHIP. If you apply for Medical Assistance for your children and your family is over the income limits, DHS will send your application to CHIP.
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Healthy Horizons
There are a variety of Medicare cost-sharing programs to help eligible Pennsylvanians pay their Medicare premiums and copays. The full list, with income limits and savings limits, can be found on DHS’s website.
Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities (MAWD)
This program is for people receiving SSI/SSDI or who have an impairment/condition that meets Social Security’s definition of disability. They must also be working full-time or part-time and earning compensation. There are no set number of hours a person needs to work. The income limit for this is 250% of the poverty guidelines, and the savings limit is $10,000. If you are near the income guidelines, but slightly over there are a number of deductions when calculating your income. You can learn more about MAWD on DHS’s website.
Home and Community-Based Services
Pennsylvania has a list of services available to help people with disabilities or medical limitations receive services in their home or community. DHS has the list on its website.
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You can apply for MA at your local County Assistance Office or online at www.compass.state.pa.us. MA coverage will pay your medical bills going back to three calendar months before you applied.
Affordable Care Act Coverage
If you do not qualify for Medical Assistance, you could still qualify for help in paying for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. If you are denied for medical assistance, your information should be sent to the Pennsylvania Insurance Exchange (Pennie) to help you find and enroll in low-cost coverage.
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To find out if you are eligible for these medical assistance programs or get help with your application, contact:
Children’s Health Insurance Program: Online or by calling 1-800-986-5437
Pennsylvania Health Access Network: Online or by calling (877) 570-3642
Pennsylvania Health Law Project: Online or by calling 412 434-5779
SNAP (Formerly “Food Stamps”)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the official name of the federal Food Stamp program. DHS administers the program through assistance offices in each county (CAOs). Most low-income families are eligible for SNAP benefits, which are credits that come on an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. SNAP recipients can use their benefits like cash to buy food at most grocery stores.
SUN Bucks (Summer EBT)
SUN Bucks (also called Summer EBT) is a new permanent federal child nutrition program aimed at keeping kids fed during the summer months when they are not in school. Eligible children will receive an EBT card that can be used to purchase groceries.
The program will be run by the PA Department of Human Services, with support from the PA Department of Education. Below is information about how the program will run in Pennsylvania during the summer of 2025. We will provide updates as more information is available.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
PLEASE NOTE:
Even if your income is too high to receive cash assistance, you may still get food stamps and Medical Assistance.
Pennsylvania has one cash assistance program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). To be eligible for cash assistance, your income must be below the cash grant size: $205 a month for a single person, $316 a month for two people, $403 a month for a family of three. Pennsylvania also has a limit on savings of $250 for an individual or $1,000 for more than one person.
TANF provides temporary cash assistance for pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children, which can be used to purchase any items your family needs. TANF participants also receive Medical Assistance and are usually also enrolled in SNAP. As a TANF participant, you are also eligible for supportive services to help you meet the work participation requirement, such as child care assistance and transportation. If your income becomes too high while you are receiving TANF, transitional benefits are available so that your SNAP, Medical Assistance, and child care subsidy remain intact.
General Assistance (GA) was terminated in PA in July, 2019. All GA cash assistance benefits ended August 1, 2019. (Just Harvest opposed the termination of GA and will support any state legislative efforts to bring this assistance program back.)
Federal rules require most people to have a job or work activity in order to receive TANF cash assistance. But some people do not have to and are permitted an “exemption” from work requirements.
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People with physical or mental health problems that prevent them from working do not have to get a job or do the work activities. To show physical or mental health problems, either temporary or permanent, people need to have a doctor fill out an “Employability Assessment Form”.
Grandparents or other relatives who do not receive a TANF benefits check for themselves but have related children on cash assistance living with them do not have to follow the work rules.
Single parents, during the first year of their child’s life, do not have to comply with work requirements to get cash assistance. However, they can be exempt from the work rules for only 12 months in their lifetime, using this type of exemption. Each month counts against the total 60-month time limit for TANF cash assistance.
Single parents who cannot find any adequate childcare for children less than 6 years old do not have to have a job to get a check. The welfare office will work with these parents to find childcare as soon as possible, and then they will work with the parents to find jobs or a work activity.
People under 22 who are in school or working on a GED do not have to have a job or do other work activities.
People caring for disabled dependents.
Except for grandparents and relatives who are not on the grant, the people listed above are subject to the five-year time limit on TANF cash assistance.
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“Good cause” is what the welfare department (Pennsylvania Department of Human Services) sees as good reasons for not taking a job, for leaving a job, or for not doing a work activity. You may have good cause if any of these things happened:
You lacked transportation
You were sick or there was an illness in your family
You lacked good child care, or care for a disabled adult living with you
You had a personal emergency
The welfare office didn’t give you enough notice of a program assignment or a job opportunity
Working conditions were dangerous
Pay was below minimum wage, or below what that job normally pays
A job offer would cost you more to accept than the job will pay you
The job or training program was beyond your skills. For example: you needed more help to speak or read English
Domestic or family violence was interfering with your work or program
There was discrimination because of age, race, sex, color, disability, religious beliefs, national origin, political beliefs or sexual orientation
By taking a job you would have been taking someone else’s job, or you would have replaced workers on strike
It was only a temporary job
You were in a drug or alcohol treatment program that is so intense it makes it difficult to work