Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Vermont program

Extra support alongside treatment (Pedi Pal)

Pedi Pal adds family support and nurse respite alongside your child's treatment.

What it is

Pedi Pal adds family support and nurse respite alongside your child's treatment.

Pediatric palliative care can help with the strain on your child and family. Vermont's program includes care coordination and skilled nurse respite. It can run alongside cancer treatment.

Eligibility rules
  • Your child must be under 21, live in Vermont and have Vermont Medicaid.
  • The clinical test is a life-threatening illness from which the child may not live into adulthood. The diagnosis alone does not settle that question.
What you get
  • No-cost support through Vermont Medicaid for a child who meets the program's rules.
  • Care coordination, family support and skilled nurse respite.
What the help includes
  • Services depend on the child's needs and what the regional team can arrange.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the oncology team whether Pedi Pal fits your child's needs.
  2. Ask the doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to send the referral if you decide to pursue it.

Pedi Pal family questions: 802-865-1312. · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The nurse coordinator decides eligibility within 14 calendar days after receiving a complete referral. A parent cannot make the clinical referral.
Good to know

Receiving this support does not require replacing your child's treatment with comfort care alone.

Other details
  • The coordinator can explain which services and nurse respite are available near your home.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Pedi Pal support our family alongside treatment? What would it add, and could you help with a referral if the team thinks it fits?”

Why I’m asking: I want help for our whole family without misunderstanding what palliative care means.

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

Ask the team to refer, and say plainly that you want it alongside treatment.

Your social worker

The oncology social worker raises it with the doctor and follows the 14-day clock.

The care team

A doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant makes the referral and describes the clinical picture.

Who decides
The programme nurse coordinator, within 14 calendar days of a complete referral.
Ask the care team
“Would you refer us to the pediatric palliative care programme? We understand it runs alongside treatment, and we want the coordination and the nurse respite.”

How to apply

First step: Ask the oncology team to refer, and call 802-865-1312 to ask what is available in your region.

  1. Ask the oncology team whether they would refer, and say you want support alongside treatment.
  2. Ask about skilled nurse respite by name.
  3. Call 802-865-1312 with questions about what is available in your region.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the oncology team to send the referral form. Family questions: 802-865-1312.

What to gather

  • The Green Mountain Care identification number
  • A Vermont address
  • The oncology team's contact details for the referral

How long: The coordinator decides within 14 calendar days of a complete referral form.

What a yes looks like

A named coordinator and a plan that says which services your region has.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask which of the four criteria was not met. Coverage and residence are fixable; the clinical finding is the team's to describe.

Watch out

  • The word palliative frightens people. Vermont's own family sheet says these services run alongside other treatment.
  • A parent cannot refer. A doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant has to.
  • What is available varies by region and Vermont has not published the map. Ask the coordinator what exists near you.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Coordination, family support and skilled nurse respite alongside treatment, decided within 14 calendar days of a complete referral.

  • $14 — Days to decide eligibility after a complete referral
  • $21 — Age ceiling

Covers: Care coordination · Family support · Skilled respite: short-term relief for caregiver relatives provided by a nurse, based on medical need · Services alongside the child's other treatment

Legal protection: Joining does not require stopping treatment aimed at the disease

What it costs the family: None on Vermont Medicaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 21
Age max exclusive
21
Coverage
Vermont Medicaid
Residency
Vermont
Clinical
living with a life-threatening illness from which the child may not live into adulthood
Referral
a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant

Expect friction on: Available services vary by region, and no list of which regions have what was published

The trap: Many families hear "palliative" and think it means giving up. It does not: the state's own family sheet says these services run alongside other treatment. A doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant has to make the referral.

Where I read this

← Back to your options