Vermont Guardianship Financial Help: What Kinship Caregivers Can Get

Two Very Different Financial Paths

Vermont has two main guardianship tracks for children, and they lead to very different financial support. Understanding which path you're on — or which one to pursue — determines what money is available.

Custodial Minor Guardianship (under 14 V.S.A. § 2621) goes through the Superior Court Probate Division. This is the path most kinship families take when they arrange guardianship privately with the parents' consent or by petition. Financial support comes through Reach Up Child Only and other public benefit programs.

Permanent Guardianship (under 14 V.S.A. § 2661 and 33 V.S.A. § 4903) goes through Family Court and requires prior DCF involvement. This path leads to the Guardianship Assistance Program, which can pay monthly subsidies comparable to foster care rates.

The Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP)

GAP provides ongoing monthly payments and Medicaid coverage to relatives who take permanent guardianship of a child who was in state custody. It's the most generous financial support Vermont offers to kinship guardians, but it has strict eligibility requirements:

1. The child must have been in DCF Family Services Division custody under a juvenile court order
2. The child must have lived in your home for at least six consecutive months while you were licensed or approved as a kinship foster parent
3. DCF must have formally determined that reunification with the parents and adoption are both inappropriate
4. You must meet Vermont's kinship definition — related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or having a pre-existing emotional relationship established before DCF got involved
5. The Guardianship Assistance Agreement must be fully signed before the final court order is entered

Monthly GAP payments are negotiated individually based on the child's needs, up to the maximum foster care maintenance rate the child would have received. Families can also be reimbursed up to $2,000 per child for legal and administrative costs of finalizing the guardianship.

GAP payments can continue past age 18 if the young adult hasn't graduated from high school, or up to age 21 for a lifelong disability.

Private Probate Guardianship: What's Available

If you went through probate court on your own — parents consented to guardianship, or you petitioned and the court granted it — you generally don't qualify for GAP because DCF wasn't involved.

Your financial support comes from the public benefit system:

• Reach Up Child Only: monthly cash grant where your income is excluded
• 3SquaresVT: food benefits for the household
• Dr. Dynasaur: health coverage for the child
• CCFAP childcare: with the income-guideline waiver if you receive Reach Up Child Only
• VKAP respite grants: small discretionary grants for relief, activities, and supplies

There's one narrow exception: DCF Policy 195 may allow assistance when a sibling of a child already receiving GAP is under the same relative's probate guardianship. This is uncommon, but worth asking about if it applies to your family.

The Forms You'll Need for Probate Guardianship

Vermont Judiciary provides standardized forms for custodial minor guardianship:

• Form 700-00070C: Petition to Appoint Custodial Guardian for a Minor
• Form 700-00070PMGp: Parent's Consent to Minor Guardianship
• Form 700-00061PMG: Custodial Guardianship Agreement and Family Plan
• Form 700-00078PMG: Minor's Choice of Guardian (for children 14 or older)

These forms are free from the Vermont courts. Filing fees apply, though fee waivers are available for low-income petitioners.

Which Path to Take

If DCF is already involved with the child — protective custody, conditional custody order, foster placement — ask the DCF caseworker about permanent guardianship and GAP eligibility before pursuing a private probate guardianship. Taking the probate route when the family court route is available could mean losing access to monthly subsidies.

Our Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Vermont guide maps every guardianship type against the benefits it unlocks, with a decision flowchart and document checklist for both the probate and family court paths.

See more Vermont guides →