(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any payment of Reach Up financial assistance made to or for the benefit of a dependent child creates a debt due and owing to the Department for Children and Families by any responsible parent in an amount equal to the amount of Reach Up financial assistance paid.

(b) Collection of child support debts shall be made as provided by this section and section 3902 of this title and by 15 V.S.A. chapter 11, subchapter 7. Regardless of the amount of Reach Up financial assistance paid, the Court may limit the child support debt, taking into consideration the criteria of 15 V.S.A. § 659. The Department for Children and Families and the responsible parent may limit the child support debt by stipulation which shall be enforceable on its terms unless it is modified. (Added 1979, No. 114 (Adj. Sess.); amended 1985, No. 63, § 19; 1989, No. 221 (Adj. Sess.), § 18, eff. Oct. 1, 1990; 1999, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 116; 2007, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.)