Child Care/0 - 5 year old P-EBT 2022-23

Child Care P-EBT Information

Louisiana received federal approval to issue Pandemic EBT benefits for the 2022-23 school year to families of children ages 0-5 who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits and lived in or attended child care in areas where facilities were closed or operating with reduced hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Benefits will be issued in multiple payments beginning in Summer 2023 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 2022 through May 2023 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 2022 and May 2023, 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 2022-23 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 late Summer, 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 2022 and May 2023.

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 2022 and May 2023, 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?

Benefit amounts have not yet been approved by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

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 late Summer.

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 2022-2023 school year?

If a child turned six between August 2022 and May 2023, 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.

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.