Will my newborn qualify for P-EBT? Baby born January 2025 - eligibility and amount questions

P-EBT is specifically for school-aged children who would normally receive free or reduced-price meals at school. Since your newborn isn't school age, he wouldn't qualify for P-EBT. However, you should make sure you've reported his birth to your CalWORKs office because adding him to your household will increase your Cash Aid amount AND your CalFresh benefits. Make sure to provide verification of his birth - either the birth certificate or hospital records. The increase could be significant depending on your current household size.

my friend had a baby in november and she got like $90 more in calfresh and i think around $140 more for calworks but it depends on ur family size and income, u should definitely get more for the baby tho

Just to clarify some information here: P-EBT (Pandemic EBT) was a temporary program during COVID that provided food benefits to families with children who would normally receive free or reduced-price school meals. For your newborn, you won't get P-EBT, but you SHOULD: 1. Report the birth to CalWORKs immediately (which you've done - good!) 2. Provide verification (birth certificate, hospital discharge papers) 3. Apply for WIC if you haven't already - they specifically help with formula costs Your CalWORKs grant should increase by approximately $150-200 per month for the additional child (varies by county and your situation). Your CalFresh should also increase. Both increases should be retroactive to when you reported the birth, not when they finish processing.

DEF apply for WIC!!! They will give u formula vouchers and it doesnt affect ur other benefits at all. My baby is 9 months and WIC saved us so much $$$ on formula. They give u like 10 cans a month which is like $200+ worth

Have you tried calling your CalWORKs worker to check on your case? I was trying for WEEKS to reach someone about adding my nephew to my case and kept getting stuck in the automated system or disconnected. SO FRUSTRATING!!! I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person in like 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. Worth it to get your baby added faster so you can get the increased benefits!

THE SYSTEM IS SO BROKEN!!!! they make it IMPOSSIBLE to reach anyone then act like its YOUR fault when paperwork isn't processed on time!! my daughter had a baby in november and they STILL haven't increased her benefits even tho she submitted everything right away. they keep saying "its processing" but how long does it take to add a BABY to a case file?!?!? its RIDICULOUS!!

Don't forget to also ask about the diaper stipend! CalWORKs has a program that gives you $30 extra per month for diapers for each child under 3 years old. You have to specifically request it though - they won't automatically add it. I didn't find out about it until my baby was almost a year old and missed out on so much help.

One more thing to consider - when you added your newborn to your CalWORKs case, did they also ask about the baby's father? If you're not living with the father, the county will probably ask you to cooperate with child support enforcement unless you have good cause not to (like domestic violence concerns). This doesn't affect whether your baby gets benefits, but it's something to be prepared for in case they bring it up.