3SquaresVT Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) | Department for Children and Families

General FAQs

Online: dcf.vermont.gov/esd/applicants/uploader
By Mail:
- Application / Document Processing Center
- 280 State Drive
- Waterbury VT 05671-1500
Visiting a local district office. District offices are open from 7:45AM to 4:30PM, Monday through Friday. Find your local office at dcf.vermont.gov/esd/contact/districts or call 800-479-6151.

Call 2-1-1 to be connected to a local community service provider who can provide application and benefit support.
Contact the Vermont Foodbank’s 3SquaresVT Team [include info]
Call ESD at 800-479-6151 to talk to a state benefits specialist

ICAN is operated by the state of Vermont and offers free employment, and training supports to 3SquaresVT participants. ICAN is personalized to a household member's needs and will help household members overcome the barriers they may have to employment. Household members enrolled in ICAN may qualify for participant reimbursements for costs that are related to their participation. Examples of eligible participant reimbursements include costs related to transportation, clothing, phones, and childcare.
Anyone can find out more by visiting the ICAN webpage, which includes ICAN orientation, enrollment information and local resources. If a person is unable to access the information online, they may call the Benefits Service Center at 800-479-6151 to get connected to their local ICAN team.

Unless you have "good cause" for not meeting this work rule, you may see a decrease or end to your 3SquaresVT benefits for a certain amount of time, until you meet the requirement or prove that you are newly exempt. You may lose their benefits for a certain amount of time–the length of time depends on whether you’ve lost benefits for this reason before.
The first time someone loses benefits for not meeting this work requirement, they will lose benefits for 1 month. The second time is a loss of benefits for 3 months. The third and subsequent time(s) is 6 months of loss of benefits.
Someone whose benefits have been stopped due to the above, may become eligible again by:

Becoming exempt from the General Work Requirements; or
Serving the minimum disqualification period (see above) and meeting the work requirement. If the person has not met the work requirement by the time the minimum disqualification period ends, they will not receive benefits until they meet the work requirement.

People have good cause for quitting a job or reducing work hours if one of the following is true:

There were circumstances beyond their control. Examples include, but are not limited to: illness, household emergency
A job became unsuitable (see below for definition of “unsuitable”)
There was discrimination by an employer based on a protected class
Work demands or conditions make it unreasonable to continue employment, such as working without being paid on schedule.
They accepted another job of at least 30 hours per week (or equivalent) or enrolled in school at least half-time.
Another household member accepted a job or enrolled in school at least half-time in another county or state, causing the household to move.
They are under the age of 60, retire, and the employer recognizes it as retirement.
They accepted a job which did not materialize or meet the hourly criteria or weekly earnings through no fault of their own.
They leave a job that requires frequent moves, such as Migrant Worker or Seasonal Farmworker.
When adequate dependent care is reported as unavailable for children between the ages of 6 and 12-years-old.

Workfare is the name for the option that people subject to the TLBWR have to volunteer at any public or private non-profit organization. The participant is responsible for identifying the non-profit organization. Examples of allowable organizations include but are not limited to: churches, senior centers, town offices, food shelves. The number of hours someone has to volunteer as a Workfare participant is determined by the 3SquaresVT benefit amount divided by the Vermont minimum wage.

If you don’t meet the work rules after three full months of getting benefits, you will lose 3SquaresVT eligibility and benefits until November 2025 unless you start meeting the work rules or become excused from the rules.
It’s important to remember that a community partner (Vermont Foodbank or Community Action employee, Department of Corrections or Housing caseworker, etc.) can help you get this time limit waived if you have a personal issue preventing you from meeting the work rule. Many personal issues and situations may qualify.

You can mail in copies of the information, or upload pictures/digital documents to the Document Uploader, or call us at 800-479-6151 with questions.
The following information can be proof that you are working at least 20 hours per week or a total of 80 hours or more per month from paid work or self-employment, volunteer work, or job training:
- Copies of pay stubs from the last 30 days
- A signed letter from your employer with expected hours worked
- Proof of volunteer work