Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 1007
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 33 Sec. 1007
- Adult: means an individual who:
- Assessment: means the information-gathering process, carried out by the Department's established protocol, 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 current or potential participation in the labor force and his or her family responsibilities. See
- Caretaker: means an individual 18 years of age 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. See
- 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 under section 1007 of this title. See
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner for Children and Families or his or her designee. See
- Department: means the Department for Children and Families. See
- Family: means :
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Parent: means a biological parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, or pregnant individual. See
- participating adult: means an adult member of a participating family. See
- Reach Ahead: means the program established under chapter 12 of this title. See
- Reach First payment: means a one-time payment of cash as determined in section 1004 of this title. See
- Reach First services: means the service component of the Reach First program consisting of case management services, support services, and referrals provided to eligible families to assist them in becoming self-sufficient. See
- Reach Up: means the program established under chapter 11 of this title. See
§ 1007. Required participation
(a) Each participating adult in a family receiving Reach First services shall participate in necessary assessments and developing a family development plan, if applicable, unless good cause exists for such noncompliance as defined by the Commissioner by rule. The Commissioner may use the same rules applicable to good cause as established in the Reach Up program.
(b)(1) If an adult does not comply with the following requirements without good cause, the Department shall initiate the conciliation process to determine the reason that the adult has not complied with the requirements and shall modify the requirements, if necessary, or provide the adult with a second opportunity to comply:
(A) The single parent or caretaker in a family who has no barriers to obtaining and maintaining a job and a recent and stable work history, including receiving wages for his or her most recent job that, when annualized, equal or exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level applicable to the family, shall report to the Department of Labor for an immediate job search within two working days of having filed an application.
(B) The able-to-work adult in a two-parent family (when the other parent is able to work part time or unable to work) who has no barriers to obtaining and maintaining a job and a recent and stable work history, including receiving wages for his or her most recent job that, when annualized, equal or exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level applicable to the family, shall report to the Department of Labor for an immediate job search within two working days of having filed an application.
(C) The adult in a two-parent family (when both parents are able to work) who is not the primary caretaker of the children shall report to the Department of Labor for an immediate job search within two working days of having filed an application.
(2) The Reach First payment may be withheld during the conciliation process and until the adult complies.
(3) If the adult does not report without good cause to the Department of Labor after the second opportunity, the adult shall be denied Reach First and Reach Up.
(c)(1) If an adult does not comply with the following requirements without good cause, the Department shall initiate the conciliation process to determine the reason that the adult has not complied with the requirements and shall modify the requirements, if necessary:
(A) Each participating adult shall participate in the development of his or her family development plan.
(B) Each participating adult who is not referred to the Department of Labor pursuant to this subsection shall report as directed by the Department for assessment and evaluation activities.
(C) Each participating adult shall begin to comply with his or her family development plan requirements as soon as possible, and not later than 10 days following identification of initial requirements at the initial family development plan meeting. Each participating adult shall continue to comply with such family development plan requirements until such time as the family is ineligible or transferred to Reach Up or Reach Ahead. If a family is transferred to another program, the rules of that program apply.
(2) If conciliation is unsuccessful, the Department may apply the Reach Up sanctions and transfer the family to the Reach Up program for further case management and other services. (Added 2007, No. 30, § 1, eff. May 17, 2007; amended 2021, No. 20, § 285.)