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Vermont Department for Children and Families Reach Up Eligibility Rules Economic Services Division 2200 6

2200 Purpose (08/01/2024, 23-28)

a. The purpose of the Reach Up program is to:

1. Assist families, recognizing individual and unique characteristics, to obtain the opportunities and skills necessary for self-sufficiency; 2. Encourage economic independence by removing barriers and disincentives to work and providing positive incentives to work; 3. Support parental nurturing; 4. Support parental responsibility and positive parental role models, both custodial and noncustodial; 5. Measure the success of the system by what is best for children; 6. Improve the well-being of children by providing for their immediate basic needs, including food, housing and clothing; 7. Respect the dignity of individuals and families receiving assistance by providing employment, education, and other services through social service delivery systems available to all Vermont citizens and by encouraging the private sector to integrate families receiving assistance into the mainstream employment market; 8. Recognize the challenges facing many families receiving assistance by minimizing structural financial disincentives to increased earnings and the abrupt termination of assistance before parents are fully integrated into the employment market; 9. Conserve state public financial resources by operating the system of aid in a manner that is efficient and avoids federal fiscal sanctions; and 10. Conform to federal TANF law.

2201 Definitions (08/01/2024, 23-28)

a. The following definitions apply to the terms used in the rules for the Reach Up program:

1. “Active management” means that the participant is responsible for making significant management decisions, such as approving new tenants, deciding on rental terms, or approving expenditures.

2. “Adult” means:

i. An individual age 18 or older, who is not a dependent child; or

ii. An individual under age 18, who is either pregnant or the parent of a dependent child.

3. “Bona fide loans” means:

i. A loan from an establishment or individual that is in the business of making loans and is evidenced by a written agreement to repay the money within a specified period; or