BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Children who are eligible will have access to Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits after approval was given by the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. The announcement came from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services on Wednesday morning about this latest round of benefits.

DCFS was given permission “to issue Pandemic EBT benefits to eligible children for the 2022-2023 school year, child care and summer.” This is the fourth round of Pandemic EBT benefits that the USDA FNS has approved for DCFS.

So when can recipients expect to see payments go out? DCFS said that they “will begin disbursing payments to eligible households with children in grades K-12 in early May, with child care and summer benefit issuances following in late summer.”

There will be a tiered approach to how the benefits are distributed, according to DCFS. The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services provided details about how they will be distributed to eligible recipients.

Benefits are being issued in a tiered approach (see tiers in the table below) for SY P-EBT based on the number of days a child missed due to COVID per month at a rate of $8.18 per day. Children who previously received P-EBT benefits will have SY 2022-23 and Summer P-EBT benefits issued to their existing P-EBT cards. A P-EBT card will be mailed to children who were not eligible for P-EBT benefits during the last round of issuances but are now eligible for SY 2023 and summer benefits. All Child Care P-EBT benefits will be issued to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) card of the eligible child’s household.

DCFS broke it down in this chart below:

So what about those that are eligible to receive Summer P-EBT benefits? DCFS said that recipients should expect to see their benefits around the end of the summer. Recipients will receive the $120 benefit all at one time.

“Worrying about how to feed your children is a burden that is all too real to many Louisiana families. P-EBT benefits go a long way to supporting families, and we’re pleased to issue these benefits again this year, but we know it doesn’t cover the entire food need. That’s why we’re advising parents and other neighbors to call 211 to find out about SNAP, WIC, food pantries and other resources that can really make a difference for families and their children,” said DCFS Secretary Terri Ricks.

DCFS provided details about eligibility and child care here.

You can find answers to whether you are eligible for P-EBT benefits and how to use them here.