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Vermont Department for Children and Families Reach Up Eligibility Rules Economic Services Division 2200 69
a. Child support arrearage is past due child support owed by a noncustodial parent.
b. Arrearage collected by OCS from the noncustodial parent shall be distributed according to federal rules governing the distribution of child support.
c. Arrearage collected on behalf of a Reach Up household is applied to unpaid child support obligations that accumulated while the household was receiving Reach Up benefits.
d. When the arrearage collected from the noncustodial parent represents an accumulation of the child support obligation during a period when Reach Up benefits were received, the Department may retain an amount up to the Reach Up benefit for that period.
2250.4 Advance Child Support Payments (08/01/2024, 23-28)
a. Child support payments will be treated as advance payments only if current and past child support obligations are paid in full.
2251 Earned Income (08/01/2024, 23-28)
a. Earned income is defined as income prior to any voluntary or involuntary deductions including any applicable taxes, contributions under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), or insurance.
1. In determining earned income for self-employed individuals, allowable business expenses shall be deducted first (rule 2251.2).
b. Earned income shall include all wages, cash or in-kind salary, commissions, or profit from activities in which the applicant/participant is engaged as an employee or a self-employed individual, including active management (rule 2201) of capital investments.
c. Self-employment income will be determined by the Reach Up household’s most recent tax return unless the tax return is not reflective of the current situation, a tax return has not been filed, or the household has earned income not subject to taxation.
1. In these circumstances, the Department will use the household’s records and other available sources to determine self-employment income.
2. For determining monthly self-employment income, see rule 2208.3.
d. Income earned during a period, when payment is made at one given time, is also included as earned income. e. Payments from the following programs shall be treated as earned income: 1. Income from Community Services Block Grant programs, whether as partial or temporary beneficiaries, or as employees; 2. Income from employment under a Title I project funded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; or 3. Income from employment through the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs.