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Vermont Department for Children and Families Seasonal Fuel Assistance Rules Economic Services Division 2923 Change in Circumstances

2923 Change in Circumstances (06/22/2024, 23-18)

a. Households must report all changes in circumstances that may affect eligibility or benefit amount within ten days of the date the change occurred.

1. Subject to rule 2925 and subsection (d) of this rule, reported changes will not affect the household’s benefit amount for a benefit that has already been issued.

2. Reported changes will take effect when the Department next determines eligibility and benefit amounts for fuel assistance.

b. The Department may issue an additional benefit during a heating season to a household that received a nominal benefit during the season if one of these changes occurs:

1. The household begins paying a certified fuel supplier for primary heating fuel; or

2. The cost of heating fuel becomes included in a household’s rent payment for households that do not live in Section 8 housing or other public housing.

c. If the Department issues an additional benefit pursuant to subsection (b) of this rule, the Department must deduct the nominal benefit amount received by the household during the heating season from the benefit amount that the household is otherwise eligible for in the same season.

d. The Department may withhold benefits, and may require benefits to be refunded, under any combination of the following circumstances that apply to all adult members of the household:

1. Death;

2. Moved out of Vermont;

3. Spend less than 150 nights in their living unit between November 1 and April 30; or

4. Changed their living arrangement to one excluded under rule 2904.