P-EBT for 0-5 Year Olds on SNAP

P-EBT for 0-5 Year Olds on SNAP Information

Louisiana received federal approval to issue Pandemic EBT benefits for the 2021-22 school year and Summer 2022 to families of children ages 0-5 who lived in or attended child care in areas where facilities were closed or operating with reduced hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible families will receive $22.45 per eligible month between August-December 2021, $27.14 per eligible month between January-May 2022, $195 for June 2022 and $196 for July 2022. Benefits will be issued in multiple payments beginning in Fall 2022 based on eligibility.

Eligibility

Who is eligible?

All children under the age of six in households that had an active SNAP case in any month from August 2021 through July 2022 are eligible for P-EBT benefits for the month(s) when their case was active.

They must have lived in or attended child care in an area where one or more schools or child care facilities were closed or operating with reduced attendance or hours.
If a child turned six between August 2021 and May 2022, they would be eligible to receive benefits for the remainder of the school year provided they were in a household with an active SNAP case in that month.
If your child has already received P-EBT benefits for any month during the 2021-22 school year, they are not eligible for Child Care P-EBT benefits as they may have already received benefits for the designated time period.

Do I have to sign up to receive P-EBT benefits for my 0-5 year old?

No. You do not need to do anything extra to receive these benefits for your child. DCFS is issuing these benefits in multiple payments beginning in the Fall of 2022, directly to SNAP EBT cards to eligible children based on SNAP household information.

How do I know if I’ll be receiving benefits for my child?

Parents can check their case through the “Check My Cases” link on their CAFÉ account at www.dcfs.la.gov/CAFE or the LifeInCheck App. Parents with eligible children in their SNAP household will also receive a customized flyer in the mail, explaining which children are eligible for the P-EBT Child Care benefits and the months their benefits cover.

My child was in child care and it closed due to the pandemic, but I am not on SNAP. Will I receive these benefits?

No. To be eligible, the child must be on an active SNAP case between August 2021 and July 2022.

My child is in daycare now. Will I receive benefits?

According to the guidelines approved by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, if your child lived in or attended child care in an area where one or more schools or child care facilities were closed or operating with reduced attendance or hours between August 2021 and July 2022, AND your child was part of an active SNAP case during any of those months, then your child would be eligible.

Benefits

How much will I be receiving per child?

Each eligible child will receive:

$22.45 per eligible month between August-December 2021
$27.14 per eligible month between January-May 2022
$195 for June 2022
$196 for July 2022

When can I expect to receive my child’s benefits?

P-EBT benefits for 0-5-year-olds will be distributed in multiple payments beginning in the Fall of 2022.

Will I receive these benefits be issued on a separate P-EBT card?

No. Unlike P-EBT benefits for K-12, these P-EBT benefits for 0-5 year olds will be added directly to your household’s SNAP Louisiana Purchase EBT cards.

What happens if my SNAP case closed and I threw away my card?

If your child was eligible for P-EBT during the months your case was open, those benefits will be added to your household’s SNAP Louisiana Purchase EBT card. If you no longer have the card, you can request a new one through CAFÉ, by calling the EBT customer service line (1-888-997-1117) or through the LifeInCheck EBT app.

What happens if my child turned six during the 2020-2021 school year?

If a child turned six between August 2021 and May 2022, they would be eligible to receive benefits for the remainder of the school year provided they were in a household with an active SNAP case in that month.

Will receiving this money count as income and affect other benefits (SNAP, FITAP, KCSP)?

No. P-EBT is not SNAP, and receiving P-EBT will not alter your SNAP benefits.

Is this a one-time payment?

Child Care P-EBT benefits cover previous months under the school year 2021-2022. Eligible benefits will be issued in the Fall of 2022. Each eligible child will receive:

$22.45 per eligible month between August-December 2021
$27.14 per eligible month between January-May 2022
$195 for June 2022
$196 for July 2022

How did DCFS determine the amount of the benefit?

Benefits were determined by multiplying $7.10 by the average number of school days each month, then adjusted based on the accessibility of child care services each month as compared to the same month pre-pandemic (i.e., in 2019 and early 2020), based on claims made under the USDA Food and Nutrition Services’ Child and Adult Care Food Program.

How long can P-EBT recipients use their benefits?

Under new federal rules, federal food assistance benefits will be expunged or removed, from a recipient’s EBT card nine months after the benefits are issued, unless the card is used to make a purchase within this nine-month period. If the card is used, the benefits will remain on the card for nine months from the date of last purchase. Benefits are removed only if:

It has been nine months since the benefits were issued; AND
It has been nine months since the recipient last used their EBT card.

Once benefits have been removed, they cannot be added back to the card.