Vermont program
A small grant for medical costs or a break
A small Vermont Family Network grant can help with medical costs or a break from caregiving.
What it is
A small Vermont Family Network grant can help with medical costs or a break from caregiving.
Smaller care costs can add up during treatment. The Family Support Fund includes medical expenses and respite. Funding availability matters, so the social worker can check whether applications are open.
Eligibility rules
- Vermont Family Network confirms the current income ceiling and whether funding is open.
- The fund is for children under 21 with a lasting physical, medical or developmental condition, in families with income up to 500% of poverty. Medical costs and respite have different limits.
What you get
- Possible last-resort help with medical costs or respite, depending on current rules and funding.
What the help includes
- The fund addresses medical expenses and respite, rather than providing an ongoing monthly payment.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the care consultant or hospital social worker for the current Family Support Fund application.
- Have a list of the expenses or respite help you would like the fund to cover.
Vermont Family Network, with application help through your care consultant or hospital social worker. · Official page ↗
After you ask
- Vermont Family Network reviews requests. An award depends on the program's current rules and available funds.
- Applications go to Vermont Family Network at 802-876-5315. Money is first come, first served, and a complete request is usually reviewed within two to three weeks.
Good to know
The $1,500 covers medical help and respite together, and the fund can run out before the year ends, so ask early.
Other details
- There is no charge to apply. The request should identify the costs you want help with.
Official sources
“Could the Family Support Fund help with any of our costs or respite? What would it pay for, and could you help us apply if funds are available?”
Why I’m asking: A small grant could ease costs that our other coverage does not meet.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Apply with a list of the costs, and ask first whether the fund is open.
Your social worker
The social worker or care consultant has the current form and knows whether money is left.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- Vermont Family Network.
- Ask your social worker
- “Is the Family Support Fund open this year, and can you give us the current application?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the hospital social worker or the care consultant on 800-660-4427 for the current application.
- Ask the social worker whether the fund is open this year before applying.
- Put the medical costs insurance would not cover in one list.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the care consultant or hospital social worker for the current Family Support Fund application.
What to gather
- A list of the costs insurance would not cover
- Proof of household income
How long: Not published.
What a yes looks like
A written award naming the amount and what it covers.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask whether the fund is closed for the year or the costs were out of scope, and whether to reapply next year.
Watch out
- The flyer has no date on it. Ask whether the fund is open and whether money is left before you count on it.
- It is a small cap across both funds together, not per fund.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
The undated flyer lists a $1,500 combined annual ceiling, a $1,200 respite ceiling and income at or below 500% of poverty. Vermont Family Network confirms current funding and rules.
- $1,500/year — Combined annual maximum a family can apply for across both funds
- $500/year — Income ceiling, percentage of the poverty line, inclusive
Covers: A medical expenses fund · A respite fund
What it costs the family: Free to apply.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Income
- at or below 500 percent of the poverty line, inclusive
- Residency
- Vermont
The trap: The flyer carries no date. The current award year, the remaining money and whether the fund is open right now were not published, so call before you count on it.
Where I read this
- Vermont Family Network Family Support Fund flyer — Vermont Family Network, hosted by the Vermont Department of Health, read September 10, 2026