With the 401K, she can withdrawl up to half of it in a reasonable percentage rate loan, but must repay through her weekly paychecks. The good news is that this loan repayment money will be going back into the 401K along with any interest she has to pay.
Under certain circumstances, she can take a hardship withdrawl from her 401K, but must pay the steep taxes and penalties associated with that. I'm not sure if that needs to be repaid.....I don't think so.
I am currently repaying $100 a week for the $22,000 401K loan I took out 4 years ago. There were no other options for me, and this opportunity really saved my butt (and house).