Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 170 - DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (DCF) › Chapter 230 - REACH UP SERVICES (2300) › Section 13 170 230 - REACH UP SERVICES (2300)

Current through June, 2024
Section 2300 Definitions
In May 2000, when the legislature enacted Act 147, an "Act
				  Relating to Assisting Families to Attain Self-Sufficiency" it expanded the
				  existing services program into the current program which incorporates financial
				  assistance and program services into one program. The Reach Up Program created
				  by Act 147 assists families to attain self-sufficiency by fully integrating the
				  financial assistance and services components of the program. A family cannot
				  receive financial assistance unless the adult members are moving toward the
				  goal of self-sufficiency by participating in the services program to their full
				  ability.
The Reach Up services component consists of case management
				  services, support services, and referrals provided in a structured way to
				  eligible families to assist them in becoming self-sufficient. Requirements for
				  participation in the services are linked to the individual adult's needs and
				  abilities. Adults' capabilities are determined by assessments that consider the
				  person's strengths as well as areas of need. The program utilizes a case
				  management approach in which a participant, in partnership with the case
				  manager, creates an individualized plan for the family's self-sufficiency. All
				  participants must be working toward their employment goal.
Section 2301 Definitions
(05/0112014, 13-42)
The following definitions apply to the terms used in the
				  rules for the Reach Up services component and the Reach First program.
A. "Able-to-work" means to be free of any
				physical, emotional, or mental condition that would prevent the individual from
				engaging in any allowable and countable combination of the work activities for
				at least 35 hours per week.
B.
				"Able-to-work-part-time" means having a physical, emotional, or mental
				condition that would allow the individual to engage in any combination of the
				work activities for at least 10 hours per week but would prevent the individual
				from engaging in such activities for 35 or more hours per week.
C. "Adult" means an individual age 18 or
				older who is not a dependent child; or an individual under age 18 who is either
				pregnant or the parent of a dependent child.
D. "Assessment means the
				information-gathering process, carried out by the department's established
				protocol in Reach First, that identifies an individual's skills, aptitudes,
				interests, life and work experience, and barriers; and the determination of how
				these factors relate to the individual's family responsibilities, including
				child well-being, and current or potential participation in the labor
				force.
E. "Barrier" means any
				physical, emotional, or mental condition; any lack of an educational,
				vocational, or other skill or ability; any lack of transportation, child care,
				housing, medical assistance, or other services or resources; domestic violence
				circumstances; caretaker responsibilities; or other conditions or circumstances
				that prevent an individual from engaging in employment or other work
				activity.
F. "Caretaker" means an
				individual, other than a parent, age 18 or older who is fulfilling a parental
				role in caring for a dependent child by providing physical care, guidance, and
				decision-making related to the child's health, school, medical care, and
				discipline.
G. "Case management"
				means the services provided by or through the department to participating
				families, including assessment, information, referrals, and assistance in the
				preparation and implementation of a family development plan.
H. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
				the Vermont Department for Children and Families, or the commissioner's
				designee.
I. "Countable" means the
				months of financial assistance that a Reach Up participant receives that count
				toward the 60-month time limit.
J.
				"Department" means the Vermont Department for Children and Families
				(DCF).
K. "Dependent child" means a
				child who is a resident of this state and:
-- is under the age of 18 years; or
-- is 18 years of age or older who is a full-time student in
				  a secondary school, or attending an equivalent level of vocational or technical
				  training, and is reasonably expected to complete the educational program before
				  reaching the age of 19 or is not expected to complete the educational program
				  before reaching 19 solely due to a documented disability.
L. "Domestic violence' means any of the
				following acts, if committed by a family or household member:
physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to result in,
				  physical injury to the individual;
-- sexual abuse;
-- sexual activity involving a dependent child;
-- being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependent
				  child to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities;
-- threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual
				  abuse;
-- mental or emotional abuse; or
-- neglect or deprivation of medical care.
For the purposes of this definition, household members are
				  persons who, for any period of time, are living or have lived together, are
				  sharing or have shared occupancy of a dwelling, are engaged in or have engaged
				  in a sexual relationship, or minors or adults who are dating or who have dated.
				  Dating means a social relationship of a romantic nature.
M. "Electronic benefit transfer transaction"
				means the use of a credit or debit card service, automated teller machine,
				point-of-sale terminal, or access to an online system for the withdrawal of
				funds or the processing of a payment for merchandise or a service.
N. "Eligible family" means a family that is
				determined to be financially eligible for the programs authorized by 33 V.S.A.
				Chapters 10 and 11.
O. "Family"
				means:
-- one or more dependent children living with one or both
				  parents or a relative, or a caretaker of such children; or
-- a pregnant individual.
-- "Family development plan" (FDP) means the written plan,
				  developed by the case manager with the involvement of the participating family,
				  that charts the family's participation in the services component of Reach
				  Up.
-- "Homeless" means lacking a fixed and regular nighttime
				  residence or living in one of the following as a primary nighttime
				  residence:
-- a supervised shelter designed to provide temporary
				  accommodations, such as a welfare hotel or congregate shelter;
-- a halfway house or similar institution that provides
				  temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized;
-- a temporary accommodation, for not more than 90 days, in
				  the residence of another individual;
-- a place not designed for, or ordinarily used, as a regular
				  sleeping accommodation for human beings, such as a hallway, bus station, lobby,
				  or similar place.
R.
				"Living with a relative or caretaker" means living with a caretaker or relative
				in a residence maintained by the caretaker or one or more relatives at his or
				her or their home.
S. "Parent" means
				a biological parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, or pregnant
				individual.
T. "Participant" means
				an adult or out-of-school youth who is a member of a participating
				family.
U. "Participating family"
				means an eligible family that participates in the Reach Up program.
V. "Primary caretaker parent" means the
				parent in a two-parent family with two able-to-work parents whose primary role
				is to care for the children.
W.
				"Principal-earner parent" means the parent in a two-parent family with two
				able-bodied parents whose primary role is breadwinner.
X "Reach First payment" means one or more
				cash payments to assist a family to gain self-sufficiency and avert the need
				for Reach Up financial assistance.
Y. "Reach First services" means the services
				component of the Reach First program consisting of assessment, case management
				services, support services, and referrals provided to eligible families to
				assist them in becoming self-sufficient.
Z. "Reach Up services" means the services
				including assessment in Reach First, case management services, support
				services, and referrals provided to participating families to help them become
				self - sufficient.
AA. "Relative"
				means a person related to a dependent child in anyone of the following ways:
-- A blood relative, including those of half-blood, and
				  including first cousins, nephews, nieces and preceding generations, as denoted
				  by the prefixes grand-, great-, and great-great;
-- A stepparent, stepbrother, stepsister;
-- An adoptive relative of corresponding degree, upon whom
				  are conferred under Vermont law (
				  15A
				  V.S.A §
												1-104 ) the same rights, duties
				  and obligations as natural relatives; or
-- A spouse of an individual included in one of the above
				  groups, whether or not the marriage has been terminated by death or
				  divorce.
AB. "Resources"
				means any income and property available from whatever source and as
				specifically defined in Reach Up eligibility (rules 2280 ).
AC. "Secretary" means the secretary of the
				Agency of Human Services or his or her designee.
AD. "Support services" means the services and
				referrals listed in and provided to eligible families according to Reach Up and
				Reach First rules.
AE. "Temporary
				Assistance to Needy Families" (TANF) means the block grant provided to this
				state and established in accordance with Part A of Title IV of the federal
				Social Security Act, as amended, and the regulations promulgated pursuant
				thereto by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
AF. "Unable-to-work" means not able-to-work
				and not able-to-work-part-time.
Definitions
AG. "Work-eligible adult" means an adult in
				the applicant household who would have a work requirement if the family were
				receiving TANF-funded financial assistance.
AH. "Workactivities" means the activities
				described at rule
				2350
AI. "Work-ready" means an adult is not
				subject to a barrier and is capable of participating in a single work activity
				or combination of work activities for the number of hours needed to meet the
				work requirement.