3SquaresVT Household Composition Rules for Kinship Caregivers in Vermont

Why Household Composition Matters

Your 3SquaresVT benefit amount depends on two things: your household size and your household's countable income. Getting the household composition right determines both the income limit you're measured against and the maximum benefit you can receive.

For kinship caregivers, the household rules work differently than they do for Reach Up Child Only. Understanding the distinction prevents errors that leave money on the table — or trigger denials that shouldn't happen.

The Basic Rule: Who Shares Food

Under SNAP regulations, people who live together and customarily purchase and prepare meals together are one household. For most grandparent-grandchild arrangements, this means:

• You and the child are one household if you buy groceries and eat meals together
• Your spouse counts too, if they live in the home
• Other children under 18 in the home who are under your parental control are included
• Adult children living with you who share meals are included

A child under 18 who lives with a non-parent household member cannot be a separate SNAP household — federal rules require them to be included.

Where It Differs From Reach Up Child Only

This is where kinship caregivers get confused. For Reach Up Child Only, the filing unit is just the child. Your income is completely excluded. But for 3SquaresVT, you and the child are in the same household, and your income is counted.

That said, a larger household gets a higher income limit. Adding a grandchild to your household increases your gross income threshold (from $2,461 per month for one person to $3,337 for two people in the October 2026 – September 2027 period). If your income was close to the single-person limit, having the child in your household could actually improve your eligibility.

Foster Children Are Different

A child who is in licensed foster care is excluded from your SNAP household entirely. Their foster care maintenance payments don't count as household income. But most kinship arrangements — informal care, guardianship through probate court, conditional custody — are not licensed foster care. In those situations, the child is part of your 3SquaresVT household.

Special Rules for Older Caregivers

If you're 60 or older, two provisions help:

1. Medical expense deduction: out-of-pocket medical costs exceeding $35 per month reduce your countable income. Prescription copays, Medicare premiums, dental work, and transportation to appointments all qualify.
2. Resource flexibility: households with an elderly or disabled member may still qualify above the gross income limit if their net income (after deductions) falls below the net limit.

These rules exist specifically because older adults often have high medical costs that standard deductions don't capture.

Getting It Right on the Application

When you fill out the 3SquaresVT application, list every person in the household who shares meals. Report the child's income separately (child support, Social Security survivor benefits). Then claim every deduction you're entitled to — shelter costs, dependent care, and medical expenses if you're 60 or older.

Our Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Vermont guide includes a household composition worksheet and a side-by-side comparison of how each Vermont benefit program counts income differently, so you can fill out every application correctly the first time.

See more Vermont guides →