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I called my kids school today and they said not all P-EBT cards are being sent at the same time. Apparently they're rolling them out over a 4-6 week period and prioritizing by school district. so if u haven't gotten yours yet, that might be why
This is correct. The California Department of Social Services has stated they're distributing the 2025 P-EBT cards in phases. If you had P-EBT previously, the new benefits should be loaded onto your existing card. If this is your first time, new cards are being mailed on a rolling basis. You can check your status at the BenefitsCal portal or by calling the P-EBT helpline at 877-328-9677, though wait times are extremely long right now.
Just a quick tip for everyone new to P-EBT: these benefits work a lot like CalFresh but have a few key differences: 1) P-EBT benefits last for 9 months from the issue date before they expire (CalFresh is 12 months) 2) You can use P-EBT at the same stores that accept CalFresh/EBT 3) P-EBT is specifically for households with children who would normally receive free/reduced school meals 4) Unlike regular CalFresh, you don't need to submit any SAR7 reports or recertification for P-EBT 5) P-EBT doesn't count against public charge rules for immigration Hope this helps!
im still confused about the different between calfresh and calworks. do we need to protect both the same way?? my worker keeps saying i need to do recertification for my calfresh but i thought i was on calworks??? are they the same thing???
They're different programs but both use the same EBT card. CalFresh is for food only (formerly called food stamps) while CalWORKs provides cash aid. You can be on both programs simultaneously. The same theft protection methods apply to both since they use the same EBT system. You would need to recertify for each program you're enrolled in, but the timing might be different. Check your BenefitsCal account - it should show which programs you're currently on and when recertification is due for each one.
Thanks everyone for all these helpful tips! I've made a protection plan based on your advice: 1. I'll change my PIN the night before deposit day each month 2. I called the county today (finally got through!) and requested an authorized user card for my mom 3. I'll transfer most benefits to her card when they deposit 4. I enrolled in text alerts for all transactions 5. I requested a completely new card with new number to start fresh 6. I saved the theft claim form information just in case I feel so much better knowing I have options if something happens. This community is amazing! ❤️
Great plan! One more tip: when you transfer benefits to your mom's card, do it in smaller chunks over a few days rather than all at once. I've heard of sophisticated thieves monitoring accounts and waiting until right after large deposits or transfers to strike. Spreading it out makes it harder for them to get everything at once.
The EBT 4.0 rollout has been a mess. My household received our cards weeks apart despite having the same last name and address. The worst part is that the notification letters arrived AFTER the cards for half my family. For anyone still waiting, make sure your address is updated on BenefitsCal and check if you've completed your latest SAR7 or recertification. Sometimes they hold new cards if your case has any pending issues.
One more thing to add - I've seen a few cases where the EBT 4.0 cards were sent to old addresses even though people had updated their info on BenefitsCal. If you've moved in the past year, it might be worth confirming your address directly with the county office. The EBT vendor and county systems don't always sync properly.
Quick update based on what I'm hearing from some workers: If your documents are showing in your upload history, there's a good chance they were received by the county system even if the status isn't updating properly. Many counties are doing manual checks of the document repository to process SAR7s during this system issue. If your benefits don't reload on March 15th, request an administrative hearing immediately - you have 90 days to appeal if your benefits are incorrectly discontinued.
I had this issue last month and somebody told me to check my junk email folder - turned out the county HAD sent me an email saying they needed more info but it went to spam! Might be worth checking?
Lola Perez
i bet its about ur upcoming recert. Mine was due in march but they started calling in JANUARY!!!! so annoying. they like to start bugging u way ahead of time so they can blame u if anything goes wrong lol
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Genevieve Cavalier
•My recertification isn't until November, I just did it last November. But maybe they're REALLY planning ahead? 😂
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Nathaniel Stewart
Since you've confirmed there's nothing in your BenefitsCal account and your recertification/SAR7 aren't due, my professional guess is that it's one of two things: 1. There's been income reported to the system (through quarterly wage matching) that doesn't match what they have on file 2. They're doing a random quality control review (yes, these happen) Either way, you need to call them back. And definitely take care of that lost EBT card immediately. Those are two separate issues with two different phone numbers: - EBT Card: 1-877-328-9677 - CalFresh Case: Your county office
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Genevieve Cavalier
•I did switch jobs about 2 months ago, but I reported it on the change report form they sent me. I think I need to call both numbers tomorrow. Thanks for helping me understand what might be happening!
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