NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Human Services announced Thursday it will send out Pandemic Electronic Benefit Program (P-EBT) payments to children who qualified during the 2021/22 school year beginning Saturday, July 30.
For this round, children will receive P-EBT benefits if:
- They were eligible to receive free meals through the National School Lunch Program, or if they attended a Community Eligibility Program, Provision 2 or 3 school.
- They attended a school that experienced a closure or reduction of hours of five consecutive days.
- They had a COVID-related absence reported to their school during the 2021/2022 school year.
TDHS said no application is required because children are automatically enrolled in P-EBT according to absence and closure records related to COVID-19 provided by Tennessee schools.
Eligible children will receive roughly $7.10 per excused absence day related to COVID-19. The total amount of P-EBT benefits will vary for each child.
The payments will be made to a special P-EBT card. If a child already has an active P-EBT card, the benefits will be added to that card.
People needing a new P-EBT card should visit www.connectebt.com or call 1-(888)-997-9444. New cards will also be mailed to eligible children who never received a P-EBT card.
Parents can log in to the P-EBT Parent Portal at https://onedhs.tn.gov/parent to view P-EBT benefits, link their children, verify or change their address, and sign up to receive text notifications.
TDHS said parents who believe their child's 2021/22 school year benefits are incorrect can submit a reconsideration request through the parent portal. Requests need to be made between July 22 and August 29. If approved, the reconsideration benefits will be issued in September 2022.
Child Care P-EBT is also available for families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. To qualify, children must be 6 years or under and they must live in a household currently receiving SNAP benefits. Benefits are paid if the child missed meals due to COVID-19 interruptions to child care services.
Those benefits will be paid in a lump sum on July 28, 2022, on the household's SNAP EBT card. The amount will vary for each eligible child and household based on the child's age and the number of months between August 2021 and May 2022 that the family received SNAP benefits.
You can learn more at this link.