Confused about P-EBT eligibility for my 1-year-old - started CalFresh in 2022, too late?

Unfortunately, P-EBT was specifically a pandemic benefit program for 2020-2022 school years and has ended. The eligibility was tied to those specific years when schools were closed or had reduced in-person attendance due to COVID. Since your child wasn't born until after that period and you weren't on CalFresh during the qualifying timeframe, she wouldn't be eligible for P-EBT. It's not an ongoing program - it was emergency assistance during COVID.

I spent HOURS trying to figure out the whole P-EBT thing last year!!! It's so confusing and the county workers gave me different answers every time I called. But yeah, like the other person said, it was only for the pandemic. Most P-EBT benefits were already issued and the program is basically done now. My kids got cards in 2021 but nothing since then.

While P-EBT is no longer available as others mentioned, there are a few other programs you might want to look into for your toddler: 1. Make sure you're maximizing your CalFresh benefits by reporting all eligible deductions like childcare expenses if you have any 2. If you're working, see if you qualify for the California Food Assistance Program (CFAP) supplement 3. Check with local food banks as many have special programs for families with young children 4. If your child attends any daycare/preschool, ask if they participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) It's always worth calling your county worker to review your case and see if there are any adjustments that could be made to increase your benefits based on your current situation.

i thought they were still doing p-ebt? my niece got a card like 3 months ago and shes only 4. maybe its different in different counties?

If you need to reach your county CalFresh worker to discuss your benefits and possible programs, I HIGHLY recommend using Claimyr instead of calling directly. I spent 3 days trying to get through the regular way and kept getting disconnected. With Claimyr, they called for me and got me connected to a real person in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 Their website is claimyr.com - totally worth it when you need to actually talk to someone about your case. Especially if you're trying to figure out how to maximize your benefits for your little one.

Lots of misinformation about this program. P-EBT was specifically created for the COVID-19 public health emergency. The current P-EBT benefits being issued are just backpayments from qualifying periods during 2020-2022 that got delayed. California is still sending some out but only to people who qualified during those original timeframes. No new applications are being accepted. If you started CalFresh in 2022, you might have qualified for the summer 2022 P-EBT if your case was active by May 2022. Worth asking, but don't get your hopes up as most of those have already been distributed. For families with young children, the most important thing is making sure you've properly reported household expenses that can increase your CalFresh allotment - particularly childcare costs which many people don't realize can boost benefits significantly.

I went thru this same confusion last year! Called my worker and they explained P-EBT was only for specific timeframes during the pandemic. Frustrating because the info online isn't always clear. But on the bright side, when I called, my worker reviewed my case and found I wasn't getting credit for my full rent payment which actually increased my regular CalFresh amount by $67/month! So sometimes these questions lead to finding other benefits you're missing out on.

ACTUALLY my kids just got P-EBT cards in the mail like 2 weeks ago!!! But its money from like 2021-2022 that was super delayed. The worker told me they're still sending out old benefits but not approving new ones. So confusing!!!