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Vermont Department for Children and Families Reach Up Eligibility Rules Economic Services Division 2200 25

e. Retroactive corrective payments will be applied first to any outstanding unrecovered overpayment.

1. The amount of corrective payment remaining, if any, shall be paid to the Reach Up household.

2219 Overpayments (08/01/2024, 23-28)

a. Overpayments of benefits shall be subject to recoupment if they result from the following:

1. Administrative error;

2. Participant error; or

3. Payments made pending a fair hearing that is subsequently determined in favor of the Department.

b. Recovery of an overpayment can be made through repayment by the recipient of the overpayment or by reducing the amount of payment being received by the member of the Reach Up household.

c. Recoupment of overpayments less than $35.00 do not apply to individuals currently ineligible for Reach Up financial assistance, except for a case involving fraud. d. Any overpayments of $35.00 or more should be recovered from individuals currently ineligible for Reach Up financial assistance. 1. However, if after an attempt has been made to recover the amount and continued attempts at recovery would cost as much or more than the amount of the overpayment, further attempt at collection may be waived.

e. Overpayments of benefits that are subject to recoupment shall only be recouped from the program in which the overpayment occurred.

1. When participants who have been overpaid in one Reach Up program transfer to, or subsequently apply for and are found eligible in, another Reach Up program, the overpayment and recoupment shall not transfer to that other program.

2. Any outstanding overpayment amounts may be recovered in other ways authorized under these rules and shall be recouped if the participant returns to the Reach Up program where the overpayment occurred.

f. No recoupment shall be attempted for overpayments occurring more than 12 months prior to the date of discovery unless the overpayment was caused by the participant’s willful withholding or misrepresentation of information that affected the amount of payment.

1. Recoupment of overpayments that took place within a three-year period prior to the date of discovery can be attempted when a participant’s willful withholding or misrepresentation of information caused the overpayment.

g. Recoupment shall be made each month from any combined earned and unearned income, liquid resources, and the amount of the household’s Reach Up benefit before recoupment.