Why FamilyHelper exists

Every parent who has tried this has had the same experience. You call one office and get an answer about one program. You ask whether anything else applies and are told to call a different number. Nobody has a complete picture of what your family is entitled to, because no single agency is responsible for holding one.

The result is that families receive one thing and never learn about four others. Not because they were turned down — because the conversation never happened.

The gap we set out to close

The pattern that comes up most is a parent being told the household earns too much, and reasonably concluding that the answer covers everyone. It frequently does not. Children are evaluated against higher income thresholds than adults for health coverage. WIC uses a higher limit than SNAP. School programs run on district rules that have nothing to do with either.

A no is almost always a no about one program, for one person, under one set of rules. We write to make that visible, because the alternative is families closing a door that was never actually shut.

How this site is organized

By what is happening to you, not by which agency happens to run what. Parents do not arrive looking for "the Child Care and Development Fund." They arrive because they cannot afford care and need to work. Each topic starts from the situation and works back to the programs.

Every topic also carries a note on what is different for children, because that is the single most common thing families get wrong and the thing most likely to change an outcome.

What we do not do

We do not accept applications, determine eligibility, advocate on anyone's behalf, or act as an intermediary between you and any agency. We charge nothing, and we do not sell or share the contact details of anyone who signs up for updates.

We are also not a government agency, and we are deliberate about saying so. This field attracts operations that blur that line — sites that imply official standing, or charge a fee to file an application that is free. If a site suggests it can get your family approved for something, treat that as a warning regardless of whose site it is.

How the writing works

We describe how programs operate rather than publishing figures that expire. Income limits and benefit amounts change annually and differ by state, so a number printed here would be wrong somewhere the day it appeared. What does not go stale is how a program is structured, who administers it, what it asks for, and where families get stuck.

Every guide ends by naming the agency with authority over the program. That is less satisfying than a confident answer and considerably more useful.