Low-income Kentuckians getting much-needed cash payments through the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (or KTAP) will get less help starting in November.
Dr. Steven Stack, the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said last week that the “program grew more quickly than projected” after an overhaul two years ago. The number of participating families increased from around 10,026 in the 2023 fiscal year to 15,117 in 2025.
In the program’s first update since 1995, Kentucky in 2023 increased KTAP payments and raised income eligibility levels, meaning more families could receive assistance. The state also raised the asset test from $2,000 to $10,000, a change that helped older caregivers raising children on retirement savings.
Lower monthly payments coming in November are “still higher than the amounts prior to 2023,” Stack said.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear announced the cut in benefits during his weekly news briefing on Sept. 25. Beshear and Stack cited a strain on cabinet finances caused by an increase in the number of children entering foster care and the severity of their needs.
“Not only did we see an increase in the number of children entering foster care, but the cost of their care also increased,” Stack said. “We have children in foster care who at times can’t be placed right away because the services they need simply are not available. In those situations, our DCBS (Department for Community Based Services) social workers have stepped in to provide around the clock care to make sure those children are safe. That has meant significant spending in staff overtime, security and other emergency supports.”
Advocates are criticizing Beshear’s administration for the move, saying the General Assembly should have been looped in either during the 2026 session or in a special session to address the issue.
“Clearly, the precedent is to involve them,” said Terry Brooks, the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. “It’s intriguing in the sense that Gov. (Andy) Beshear places a high emphasis on legislative and executive branch collaboration, unless he doesn’t want to collaborate.”
The Lantern asked the cabinet for more insight on the decision to move forward with the cut without engaging the General Assembly.
KTAP, which comes from federal funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, benefits low-income families for a maximum of 60 months over the course of a lifetime, which do not have to be consecutive. Families are eligible for this assistance if they are low income, a Kentucky resident, a U.S. citizen or qualifying immigrant and a caretaker or parent of a child. The program also provides transportation assistance and has work and education requirements.
Families getting $300 from the government “may not sound like a lot,” Brooks said, but “for these families, it’s a significant hit.”
“It’s diapers and formula and clothes and cribs and medical expenses and school supplies,” he said. “None of those come cheap.”
About 19% of Kentucky children lived in poverty last year, according to the American Community Survey (ACS), released by the United States Census Bureau in mid September. More than 500,000 Kentuckians participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The lower KTAP payments will be especially challenging for kinship care families in Kentucky, Brooks said, who are already making a “significant economic sacrifice” to raise minor relatives and keep them out of traditional foster care. If they can’t make ends meet on their own, they can’t remain kinship caregivers, he said.
About 42% of kinship families in Kentucky receive KTAP support, reports Kentucky Youth Advocates.
“I’m a grandpa,” Brooks said. “And when I think about any grandparent being faced with the situation: ‘I can’t make it economically, and therefore I’m going to have to relinquish my grandchild to the state,’ that’s heartbreaking.”
A ‘blow’ to ‘modest but vital lifeline’
Dustin Pugel, the policy director at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, called KTAP benefits “a modest, but vital lifeline” for low-income Kentuckians who stand to suffer a “blow” in losing part of the help.
“To cut this benefit by a third in order to plug a budget hole without public input or regulatory approval is to rob Peter to pay Paul, and those who suffer the consequences are kids who can least afford it,” Pugel said.
Prior to 2023, the benefit for a family of one making $742 a month was a maximum of $186, according to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. A family of seven or more was eligible for up to $482 in assistance if they made $1,462 per month.
Also, before the 2023 changes, Kentucky families had to be so poor to qualify — an income of no more than $12,000 a year for a family of three — that participation in KTAP had fallen to 10,000 families compared to 72,000 families in 1995.
In addition to raising the income eligibility levels, the 2023 update roughly doubled the maximum benefit. On the low end of current benefit thresholds a family of one making $890 per month can receive a maximum of $372 and, on the highest end, a family of seven earning $1,754 per month can qualify for up to $964.
Now, starting in November, Kentuckians getting the benefit will see about a 35% decrease, according to a letter obtained by the Lantern, which was to be sent to KTAP recipients. The Lantern has asked the cabinet to confirm the benefit amounts, which are, according to that email:
- A family of one is eligible for up to $242.
- A family of two is eligible for up to $293.
- A family of three is eligible for up to $341.
- A family of four is eligible for up to $426.
- A family of five is eligible for up to $498.
- A family of six is eligible for up to $562.
- A family of 7 or more is eligible for up to $627.
‘Penny wise and pound foolish’
Food and housing insecurity are already high in Kentucky, and Brooks worries the changes to KTAP will only worsen both.
“I worry a lot about what it means for food insecurity, housing stability, all of those factors,” Brooks said. “We know that those are the exact issues that cause young people to have those adverse childhood experiences. When we’re creating instability in any way today, we’re going to pay for that in very real ways tomorrow.”
Adverse childhood experiences, more commonly known as ACEs, refer to traumas or stressors in a person’s life before their 18th birthday. Adverse experiences in childhood and their lasting consequences cost Kentucky nearly $300 million a year, the Lantern has reported.
“In a lot of ways, this decision could backfire, and it could be that we’re penny wise and pound foolish,” Brooks said.
Stack stressed that families aren’t being punished.
“This is not a penalty for families receiving KTAP or for those participating in the Kentucky Works program, this change is the result of circumstances that go beyond any one program or household,” Stack said Thursday during Gov. Andy Beshear’s weekly press briefing. “We recognize that these reductions will result in added burdens, and we are committed to helping families connect with other resources where possible.”
Stack said any people affected by this “difficult news” can call 1-855-306-8959 for help locating other assistance. The changes go into effect Nov. 1.
“Changes like these are not easy, and they are never welcome,” Stack said. “When financial resources are available, we are committed to directing them to support Kentuckians. Unfortunately, the other side of the coin is that when demand increases or funding is reduced, programs must be adjusted to stay within the designated budget allowed.”
Pugel with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy said the executive branch should work with the General Assembly to “return to the lawfully set benefit levels in KTAP while also fully funding vital services for vulnerable children in foster care.”
“When there are budget holes, the answer is not to raid flexible funds already being used to care for the poorest children in Kentucky, but to engage the General Assembly,” Pugel said. “These children are not in competition. They are among the Kentuckians who can least withstand the deeper hardship this decision brings.”
This article was originally published by the Kentucky Lantern.
