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  Division of Benefit Programs  
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The Division of Benefit Programs develops and administers programs that provide timely and accurate income support benefits and employment services to families and individuals in the Commonwealth, in order to assist their movement from dependency on public assistance programs to self-sufficiency.

The Division of Benefit Programs is responsible for the supervision and management of 16 public assistance programs, administered by 120 local departments of social services which serve 95 counties and 41 cities.

Virginia's welfare reform initiative, the Virginia Independence Program (VIP) and its work component, the Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare (VIEW), operate under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The cornerstone of VIP/VIEW in Virginia is a "work-first" philosophy.

The programs assigned to the division are administered locally through some 2,400 workers and account for a total expenditure of federal, state and local funds of over $2.4 billion per year.

Other programs the division is responsible for include:

  • Food Stamps
  • Medicaid
  • Energy Assistance (comprised of Fuel, Crisis and Cooling components)
  • Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET)
  • Unemployed Parent (UP)
  • State-Local Hospitalization (SLH)
  • General Relief (GR)
  • Repatriate Assistance Program


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Virginia Department of Social Services • © Commonwealth of Virginia 2006-2008
7 N. Eighth Street, Richmond, VA 23219
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