First State Times

NEW CASTLE – Delaware families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits will get emergency food assistance through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program for children under the age of 6 living in their households. Eligible SNAP households will receive the Spring 2022 P-EBT Child Care Benefit for the second half of the 2021-2022 school year (January 2022 through June 2022).

The Division of Social Services will issue the Spring 2022 P-EBT Child Care Benefit on Oct. 7 on behalf of children under the age of 6. A child is eligible for this P-EBT benefit if three conditions were met from January through June 2022:

1. The child was under the age of 6.
2. The child was a member of a household that received SNAP food benefits.
3. The child lived in an area where one or more schools or child-care facilities were closed or operated with reduced attendance or hours because of COVID-19.

The Spring 2022 P-EBT Child Care Benefit covers the months of January, February, March, April, May, and June 2022. For each eligible child under age 6, the SNAP household will receive a standard benefit amount of $36 per month for each month from January through June 2022 that the household received SNAP food benefits.

SNAP households will receive P-EBT benefits on their existing SNAP EBT cards and can use their P-EBT benefits just like SNAP food benefits to buy eligible food items at stores and farmer’s markets that accept SNAP EBT. Households will receive the Spring 2022 P-EBT Child Care Benefit on Oct. 7 for all children under the age of 6 in their homes. Households will only receive P-EBT benefits for children under the age of 6 for the months that the household received SNAP food benefits during the P-EBT period.

“We are grateful to be able to offer this Pandemic EBT Child Care Benefit to eligible families of Delaware’s youngest students,” said Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) Secretary Molly Magarik. “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted vulnerable families in many significant ways, including having their children miss out on nutritious meals at their child-care centers or schools. We offer our thanks to Delaware’s congressional delegation for extending this important federal food benefit to those families.”

The Division of Social Services estimates that it will issue $5.5 million in P-EBT benefits to the families of approximately 15,850 children under the age of 6 in SNAP households for the 2021-2022 school year.

Eligible SNAP households will receive notification in the mail regarding P-EBT benefits. Households do not need to take any action to receive P-EBT benefits.

The Division of Social Services issued the Fall 2021 P-EBT Childcare Benefit in June 2022 to eligible SNAP households with children under the age of 6 for the first half of the 2021-2022 school year (September 2021 through December 2021).

Please contact the Division of Social Services at 1-866-843-7212 if you have questions about Delaware’s P-EBT Program. More information about the program can be found at: https://dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dss/pebt.html

Original source can be found here.