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Vermont Department for Children and Families Reach Up Eligibility Rules Economic Services Division 2200 52

uniformed services or by education, training, or employment away from home must be included in the Reach Up household.

3. Another relative or caretaker living in the same household with the parents and children, who has assumed responsibility for the care and supervision of the children, can only be added to the household if the parents are incapable of providing care and supervision.

c. The three exceptions to the requirement that a Reach Up household must include at least one eligible child are:

1. The only dependent child is a disabled child receiving SSI/AABD benefits; 2. A pregnant person having no other children in their home when: i. Their due date is within the next 30 days of application; ii. This due date has been self-declared or medically verified; and iii. It has been determined that the child, when born, would be eligible for Reach Up; or 3. A pregnant person having no other children in their household when the expected delivery date falls within the three-month period following the month of application and the person meets one of the following conditions: i. The pregnant person qualifies for Medicaid based on a disability; ii. The pregnant person is a minor and has a self-declared high-risk pregnancy; or A. If their 18th birthday falls before the 30th day immediately preceding the expected delivery date, eligibility for Reach Up continues through the end of the pregnancy. iii. The pregnant person is not a minor, has a medically verified high risk pregnancy, and requests consideration for early Reach Up eligibility based on their belief that they are unable to work due to a high-risk pregnancy and is found eligible on this basis. d. Independent medical professionals, who perform examinations required to enable the Department to determine a pregnant person’s ability to work due to a high-risk pregnancy, will be provided reasonable reimbursement. e. In the case of a pregnant person seeking Reach Up benefits based on the pregnancy, the Department shall determine eligibility no later than 10 calendar days following receipt of all information necessary to make the eligibility decision.

f. The Reach Up household shall not include the other parent recognized under 15C V.S.A. §102(16) of an expected child until that child is born, unless there are other legal obligations to the Reach Up household such as marriage to the pregnant person or parentage of another child in the household.

g. The Reach Up household may also include the following individuals when they are living in the same household:

1. An eligible caretaker; or