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Reach Up Annual Report 2018 9

The above chart illustrates the ages of a monthly average of 7,547 children who received assistance throughout the program from October 2016 through September 2017. Approximately 16% are under age two, 29% are between the ages of two and five, and 55% are over six. The deferment chart above illustrates that on average, 314 participants per month received a deferment from their work requirement to care for a child under the age of two.

Independent Medical Review Team The Department contracts with three physicians to review medical deferment requests to determine whether to uphold the original treatment provider’s recommendation, modify it, or to deny the request.1 The physicians’ expertise includes psychiatry, pediatrics, and general practice. In FY17, 512 medical deferment requests were reviewed, and most of those decisions resulted in a modified work requirement; 224 of these were duplicative reviews2. The following chart illustrates a breakdown of cases reviewed during the last fiscal year:

Deferment Determination Breakdown

Denials Modifications without deferment Full Deferment with Modification3 Full Deferment no modifications Total Needed In Home 1 19 23 20 63 Medical 22 231 151 45 449 Total 23 250 174 65 512

Section 2: Participant Outcomes

Charts in this section illustrate monthly averages of Reach Up and Reach Ahead participants’ work by occupation, industry, and wages based on data from October 2016 through September 2017. It does not include the Postsecondary Education program. The last chart illustrates the number of families that moved off assistance and achieved better outcomes for their children under the Reach Up program. Information supporting good outcomes for children is also represented in Section 1 by the low number of barriers related to child well-being, and the high number of parents requesting deferments to take care of children. Additionally, a draft report of a Reach Up child well-being study demonstrates promising results for families participating in Reach Up. More details can be found in Section 5. Once the Reach Up child well-being study is finalized, this will be available for review.

It is noteworthy that some participants who work earn so little they remain eligible for Reach Up. Some participants combine education with work to guarantee a better job when they leave Reach Up. Participant wage earnings are included below.

Families Combine Reach Up with Work The charts below illustrate occupations of an average of 1,137 Reach Up and Reach Ahead participants per month who are working. Of the 1,137 families, 579 are in the Reach Ahead program. Within Reach

1 The medical review process was implemented pursuant to 33 V.S.A. 1114(b)(5) and (d). 2 Duplicative reviews are cases where the timeframe for the deferment has ended, and they are being reviewed again for possible continued deferment or modification. 3 “Full deferment with modification” is a participant that starts with a deferment, then moves to a modification within the approved time frame, to encourage progress towards employment.