Health coverage for kids
Why your kids may be covered when you are not
Children's health coverage uses a higher income threshold than adult coverage. Families discover this by accident, usually years late.
7 min read
Knowledge center
Guides
Every guide covers one program or one part of the process. None of them ask you for personal information, and none of them can tell you whether you personally are eligible — only the agency running a program can do that.
Jump to a topic:Food for your familyHealth coverage for kidsHousing and rentUtilities and phoneChild care and schoolIncome and tax credits
Child care and school
How to request a school evaluation, in writing
Parents can request a special education evaluation at any time, free, without a doctor's referral. Timelines start from a written request.
6 min read
Housing and rent
School rights when your housing is unstable
Federal law lets your child stay at the same school after a move, enroll without the usual documents, and get transportation. Most families are never told.
6 min read
Income and tax credits
The refund families never claim
Tax credits for families are claimed on a return — and families below the filing threshold often do not file, so the money sits unclaimed.
6 min read
Food for your family
School meals, and the gap that opens in June
Many districts now feed every student free with no application. Then school ends, and the meals end with it.
6 min read
Child care and school
Who you can actually pay with a child care subsidy
In many states a subsidy can pay a relative or in-home caregiver, not only a licensed center. Intake workers rarely volunteer this.
6 min read
Utilities and phone
Shutoff notices when there are young children at home
Many states restrict disconnection for households with infants or a medical need. The utility will not ask — you have to raise it.
5 min read
Income and tax credits
Who counts as your household?
Programs count households differently, and the answer changes eligibility. Shared custody, live-in relatives, and roommates all complicate it.
6 min read
Food for your family
WIC does not end when the baby does
WIC serves children up to their fifth birthday, uses a higher income limit than SNAP, and runs alongside it. Families leave years of it unused.
5 min read
Housing and rent
Emergency rent help: what to do first when you have children
Emergency assistance is local, fragmented, and funded in cycles. Here is the order of operations that saves the most time.
6 min read
Child care and school
Head Start, pre-K, or child care assistance?
Three programs, three agencies, three calendars. Families are routinely told they are the same thing.
6 min read
Health coverage for kids
A denial arrived. Read the deadline first.
Many denials are procedural rather than substantive, and appeal windows are short. The most important line is not the verdict.
5 min read