There are income limits based on your household size. Your parents, if you are under 22 years oldĪnyone else you live with and buy and prepare most (2/3 or more) of your meals with You may need to apply for SNAP with other people you live with, including: If you got P-EBT, you are likely eligible for SNAP. If you get SNAP and/or P-EBT, you can up to $30 off your monthly internet bill and a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet or desktop computer through the Affordable Connectivity Program. SNAP can connect you to other kinds of help, like utility discounts and extra food dollars through the Healthy Incentives Program. You can also buy food online at Amazon, Price Chopper, Walmart, and ALDI. Like P-EBT, SNAP can be used at most grocery stores, corner stores, and other food stores, like farmers markets. SNAP is here for families at any time - during the pandemic and after If you apply and are eligible, you get a SNAP EBT card, which can be used like a debit card for food shopping.ĭuring COVID, the monthly SNAP amounts are higher! For example, if you get SNAP as a family of 3, you will get $658 per month, or $835 for a family of 4! You can get P-EBT and SNAP at the same time. The average call answer ranged from a high of nearly 51 minutes in September 2021 to a low of 9 seconds in October 2022.SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is monthly money for food like P‑EBT - but you need to apply. Auditors found that the time limit was exceeded on average in seven of the 14 months reviewed. The vendor’s contract requires that all calls be answered in six minutes or less. Issues with the DCFS call center that handles SNAP benefits were also highlighted in the audit. In her response to the auditor’s report, DFCS Secretary Terri Ricks concurred with the finding and said that corrective action is being taken to address the problem at the parish and state level. Another spot where DCFS staff can declare problems resolved was left blank on 26% of complaints. In a review of 2,146 complaints from 2018 through last year, a field for determining whether it was valid or not was left blank on more than one-third of the forms. The audit also found the DCFS system for tracking SNAP complaints doesn’t allow department staff to identify trends or resolve problems in a timely manner. “Those who lose benefits for a non-financial procedural reason may need to re-apply, which creates more work for agency staff,” the audit said. If they don’t finish them on time, they could lose benefits even though they might still qualify for assistance. SNAP recipients have to complete a form once they reach the midpoint of their benefits period and another at the end to determine if they are still eligible. Nearly 60% of those families who lose benefits have them restored, or churned, within three months. Out of more than 1.48 million SNAP cases over that time, 81.1% were closed for non-financial reasons. The review covered SNAP cases from 2018 through 2022, a period during which federal pandemic money allowed Louisiana to increase the number of families receiving food aid. The auditor conducted an efficiency review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) within the state Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), as requested through a legislative resolution approved last year. A new report from the state Legislative Auditor found that more than half the time the reasons are procedural rather than financial. When a Louisiana family loses public food assistance, it’s most often not because they don’t qualify for it.
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