Vermont Informal Kinship Care Benefits

A grandchild shows up at your door because their parent cannot care for them right now. There is no court order, no caseworker, no paperwork — just a child who needs a bed and dinner tonight. You might assume that without legal custody you cannot get financial help. In Vermont, that assumption is wrong.

You Do Not Need a Court Order for Most Benefits

Vermont's benefit system draws a sharp line between what the caregiver earns and what the child qualifies for. When you care for a child informally — meaning the parents agreed to the arrangement or the child simply came to live with you — the state evaluates the child's situation independently.

Reach Up Child Only is the program most informal caregivers start with. It provides monthly cash assistance based solely on the child's own income and resources. Your retirement pension, wages, Social Security, savings, and property are completely excluded. The child needs to be under 18, living with you, and not receiving SSI or foster care payments. One child with no personal income receives up to $562 per month ($587 in Chittenden County).

To apply, you file Form 202CARE — the caretaker-specific application — with the DCF Economic Services Division. You will need the child's birth certificate, Social Security card, and proof that the child lives with you. A school enrollment record listing your address or a pediatrician record showing your home works.

Health Coverage Without Custody

Dr. Dynasaur — Vermont's combined Medicaid and CHIP program — covers children under 19 regardless of your legal relationship. DVHA does not require a court order for you to apply on the child's behalf. Medicaid household rules determine whose income counts; your income is not automatically counted just because the child lives with you. The effective income threshold is 317% of the Federal Poverty Level. Premiums are currently suspended.

Apply through Vermont Health Connect online or by calling DVHA at 1-855-899-9600. For applications filed through December 31, 2026, Medicaid coverage may be backdated up to three months. For applications filed on or after January 1, 2027, federal law will limit retroactive coverage to two months for children under 19.

Food Benefits for the Child

3SquaresVT (SNAP) uses federal household-composition rules. A non-foster child under 18 who lives with and is under the parental control of a household member other than a parent must be included in that adult's household, even if food is bought and prepared separately. For SNAP, parental control includes financial or other dependence, unless State law defines the child as an adult. The $2,461 monthly gross-income guideline applies to a one-person household for October 2026–September 2027; a caregiver-and-child household uses the guideline for its full household size.

If your SNAP household includes someone age 60 or older or a person with a qualifying disability, it may deduct allowable out-of-pocket medical expenses above $35 per month. The household also has no cap on its excess shelter deduction, but only shelter costs above 50% of monthly income after other applicable deductions count.

What Changes If You Get Guardianship

A probate guardianship petition under 14 V.S.A. § 2623 does not change your Reach Up Child Only eligibility — informal and formal caregivers both qualify. But guardianship adds two things: legal authority over medical and school decisions, and access to the CCFAP childcare subsidy income-guideline waiver for legal guardians receiving Reach Up Child Only.

Informal caregivers can still apply for CCFAP, but they face the standard income test and must meet an accepted service need. This can include caretaker employment, job search, education or training, a caretaker's special health need, or a child's documented health or specialized developmental need that includes child care in the treatment plan.

Where Informal Caregivers Hit Walls

Without legal custody, some situations get complicated. Under 16 V.S.A. § 1075, a minor's legal residence is generally where their parents live; if a court appoints a legal guardian, it is where the guardian lives. In other cases, the school board determines the student's legal residence. Medical providers vary — some accept a notarized parent consent letter, others want a court order. If you need consistent decision-making authority, a custodial guardianship provides it.

The benefits, though, do not require it. Reach Up Child Only, Dr. Dynasaur, and 3SquaresVT are all available to informal kinship caregivers in Vermont.

Our Vermont Kinship Financial Help Guide walks through each program's application step by step, with the document checklist organized by care arrangement so you know exactly what to bring.

See more Vermont guides →