Currently, DSS is asking parents of eligible students to verify the mailing address on file with DSS by August 10th at 5pm on the agency’s DSS Benefits Portal. DSS and SCDE asks districts to remind parents and caregivers to check the address in the benefits portal and appreciates school districts in communicating this timely ask to parents through social media channels, parent communications, etc. Each eligible child for P-EBT will receive their own card, so households with multiple eligible children should verify the mailing address for each child. During the last issuance of P-EBT, ten of thousands of cards were returned or undeliverable due to bad or undeliverable addresses.
Approximately 520,000 children qualify for this round of P-EBT as they were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals during the 2022-2023 school year. Verifying the mailing address ahead of time through the portal cuts down on processing times and can help limit delays for eligible families in receiving their cards that contain this one-time, lump sum amount of $120.
Need to learn more about P-EBT? Check out the 2022-2023 P-EBT Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about eligibility qualifications, amounts, and the timeline for this program. Again, the issuance process is on time and cards should be expected to arrive by mid-September. Note: calling your local DSS office will not speed up card distribution and address verification for the purposes of P-EBT should be done only on the DSS Benefits Portal.