Confused about P-EBT 3.0 payment amounts for my kids - not just $391?
Hey everyone, I'm totally confused about the P-EBT 3.0 payment amounts. I have two kids (ages 4 and 7) and just received our P-EBT cards in the mail yesterday. My oldest got $391 which makes sense from what I've read, but my 4-year-old only got $250 even though we've been on CalFresh the entire eligibility period (Aug 2021-Aug 2022). And now I'm seeing posts saying we could get MORE than just the standard amount? Something about $7/day for school absences? My son missed almost 3 weeks of school in January 2022 due to covid exposure and quarantine requirements. Would we qualify for additional funds? And how would they even know about those absences? Also, does anyone know if my 4-year-old's amount is correct? She was definitely under 6 as of August 2021 and we've had CalFresh continuously. Thanks for any help understanding this confusing program!
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StarGazer101
You're absolutely right that P-EBT 3.0 isn't just the standard $391 per child! That's a common misconception. The program has two parts: 1. Base payment of $391 for school-aged children (K-12) who were eligible for free/reduced meals 2. COVID absence supplement of about $7/day for verified COVID-related absences of 5+ consecutive days For your 4-year-old, the amount is different because young children (under 6) who were on CalFresh during the eligible period get payments based on a different calculation. The $250 sounds about right depending on which months your household received CalFresh. For your 7-year-old's absences, yes! You should be eligible for additional funds for those COVID absences. The school should have reported those absences to the state. If they didn't get counted, there will be an appeals process, but it hasn't opened yet. Keep documentation of those absences if you have it!
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Yara Nassar
•Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! That makes way more sense. Do you know when we might hear about the additional funds for absences? Will it just show up on the card, or will we get a notification first? I'm relieved to hear the $250 sounds right for my younger one.
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Keisha Jackson
ugh the whole P-EBT thing is SO confusing!! i got $391 for one kid but nothing for my other one yet?? and nobody at the school knows anything when i called. plus the P-EBT website is useless. just says "benefits are being issued" but its been saying that for like 2 months
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Paolo Romano
•I feel your frustration! The distribution timeline is ridiculous. My neighbor got cards for her kids 3 weeks before I got mine, and we're in the same school district. If you try calling the P-EBT hotline, be prepared to wait FOREVER. I was on hold for 2 hours before giving up. Some people have had luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they have a service that waits on hold for you then calls you when a person answers. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 Definitely worth trying since it sounds like your second child's card might be lost or delayed.
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Amina Diop
My kids got different amounts too. My middleschooler got $391 but my kindergartener only got $275. When I called, they said it depends on how many COVID closures their school had and if they were enrolled in free lunch programs. The $7/day thing is real - my son missed 8 days straight with COVID and we got an extra $56 automatically added to his card last week. I didn't have to do anything special for it.
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Yara Nassar
•That's interesting! I wonder if the extra amount will just show up automatically for us too then. Did you get any notification when the extra $56 was added, or did you just happen to check the balance?
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Amina Diop
•No notification at all! I just check the balance every Monday (habit from when we were using regular EBT). Was surprised to see it higher than expected!
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Oliver Schmidt
wait im confused. my toddler wasnt in school during that time but we had calfresh. should he get someting too???? nobody told me anything about this
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StarGazer101
•Yes! If your child was under 6 years old as of August 1, 2021, AND your household was receiving CalFresh benefits anytime between August 2021 and August 2022, they should qualify for P-EBT 3.0 benefits. The amount varies based on exactly which months you received CalFresh. Check if you received a P-EBT card in the mail (they're white with blue writing). If you haven't received anything and think you should have, you can call the P-EBT hotline at 877-328-9677, though they're extremely backlogged right now.
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Natasha Volkov
Let me clarify how P-EBT 3.0 actually works since there's a lot of confusion: • For school-aged children (K-12): Base payment of $391 PLUS additional COVID absence payments if they missed 5+ consecutive days due to COVID (about $7/day) • For young children under 6: Payments range from $31 to $250 depending on how many months your household received CalFresh during the eligibility period. These children don't get the absence supplement since they weren't in K-12 school. The state is distributing these benefits in phases, and some cards are still being mailed out through June 2025. For COVID absence payments, schools submitted this data directly to the state, and payments are either included with the initial amount or will be added later automatically. The appeal process for missed COVID absences hasn't opened yet, but is expected to launch in Summer 2025. You'll need documentation showing your child missed school for 5+ consecutive days due to COVID. Non-consecutive absences unfortunately don't qualify under current guidelines.
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Yara Nassar
•Thank you for such a clear explanation! That helps me understand why my younger child got the different amount. I'll keep an eye on my son's card to see if the absence supplement gets added automatically. Really appreciate the detailed info!
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Javier Torres
THIS PROGRAM IS SO UNFAIR!!! My kids were sick with covid multiple times but never for 5 days IN A ROW! They missed like 15 days total but spread out so we get NOTHING extra!! How does that make any sense? The same amount of school was missed! The same amount of meals were eaten at home! But because it wasn't consecutive days we're penalized??? The whole system is broken!
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Keisha Jackson
•EXACTLY!!! my daughter had covid 3 different times but only missed like 3-4 days each time. so we get nothing extra even tho she missed way more school than kids who get the extra money. makes zero sense.
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Natasha Volkov
•You both raise a valid point about the consecutive day requirement. The official reason given was that they needed to set a threshold that could be consistently verified across all school districts. But you're right that it doesn't fully account for the financial impact on families whose children missed many days spread out over time. I would suggest documenting all those non-consecutive absences anyway. There's some indication that the appeal process might consider these cases, especially if you can prove they were all COVID-related. The advocacy groups I've spoken with are pushing for inclusion of non-consecutive absences in the appeals process.
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Paolo Romano
Does anyone know if homeschooled kids qualify for any of this? My children were homeschooled during 2021-2022 and we were on CalFresh, but I haven't received anything. Not sure if I should be expecting cards or not.
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StarGazer101
•Unfortunately, homeschooled children generally don't qualify for the school-aged P-EBT benefits unless they were enrolled in a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program. However, if any of your children were under 6 as of August 1, 2021, AND your household received CalFresh between August 2021-August 2022, those younger children would qualify for the under-6 benefit regardless of schooling status.
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Yara Nassar
Update: Just wanted to share that I checked my son's P-EBT card balance today and there was an additional $147 added! Must be for his COVID absences in January. So it does look like they're automatically adding those funds if your school reported the absences correctly. Still nothing extra on my daughter's card, but that makes sense since she wasn't school-aged. Thanks everyone for your help understanding this complicated program!
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Oliver Schmidt
•nice!! i just checked mine and nothing extra yet. gonna call tomorrow
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Natasha Volkov
•That's excellent news! Thanks for updating us. For everyone's information, the state is processing the COVID absence supplements in batches through July 2025, so some eligible families may not see those additional funds for several more weeks. If you don't see anything by August, that would be the time to pursue the appeals process.
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