USDA OK’s $6.3M more for P-EBT

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service has approved the CNMI’s plan to operate another Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer Program, or P-EBT, estimated at $6.3 million for thousands of children in schools and child care in school year 2021-2022.

P-EBT is a federal program that provides food stamp benefits to school-aged children who lost access to school meals because their school was closed or operating with reduced in-person attendance due to COVID-19 in a school year.

USDA FNS administrator Cynthia Long notified FNS Western Regional Office regional administrator Jesus Mendoza Jr. last Nov. 3 of the approval of the CNMI’s state plan.

Under the CNMI’s plan, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and the CNMI Public School System will issue P-EBT benefits through the CNMI’s Nutrition Assistance Program’s coupon system to households with eligible children.

Long said the CNMI’s plan covers the months of August 2021 through May 2022.

Long said the first issuance is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 10, 2022, and the second issuance is tentatively set for March 11, 2023.

The CNMI estimates that it will issue $5.6 million worth of P-EBT to approximately 11,000 school children for school closures and reductions in attendance and hours from August 2021 through May 2022.

The CNMI estimates that it will issue $0.8 million to approximately 2,600 NAP-enrolled children in child care from August 2021 through May 2022.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) said in his e-kilili newsletter over the weekend that more than 13,000 NMI children who lack regular access to meals at their schools or child care centers will continue to receive free breakfasts, lunches, and snacks under this new approval.

Sablan said the USDA notified his office Monday last week about this latest approval.

“Approval of the plan also means the Commonwealth and PSS may now apply for summer P-EBT funding to keep young students well fed when school is not in session,” he said.

Long said school children are eligible for P-EBT benefits if they would have received free or reduced price meals at their schools through the National School Lunch Program if not for the closure or reduced attendance or hours of their schools for a period of at least five consecutive days.

Long said children in child care are eligible if they are enrolled in NAP and their child care facility is closed or operating with reduced attendance or hours.

She said the CNMI will use the best feasibly available data and USDA-approved simplifying assumptions to issue benefits in amounts that are tied as closely as possible to the number of days that eligible children do not receive a meal service through their schools or child care facilities.

The CNMI and its school district will identify children eligible for free or reduced price NSLP meals using the most current available data.

Long said all school districts that rely on eligibility data from the most recent prior year will have a means to address that they do not issue benefits to school year 2020-2021 graduates and other non-students, and will offer households with new students the ability to establish their eligibility through the traditional school food authority-run school meal application and direct certification processes.

The CNMI will issue benefits for the number of days that students were unable to attend school in-person due to COVID-related school-wide virtual learning days.

At a minimum, Long said, the CNMI will identify all children under age 6 who are enrolled in NAP in the benefit month.

She said the CNMI will not issue child care benefits to any child for months after their NAP enrollment ends.

Finally, Long said, the CNMI will ensure that children who receive a benefit through P-EBT’s child care component do not also receive a benefit through P-EBT’s school component for the same month.

In addition, she said, the CNMI will identify NAP-enrolled children under age 6 and issue benefits to children enrolled in structured Day Care Center for absences recorded as COVID-related by their centers.

Given that the weighted average number of COVID-related closure days reported by structured centers over the 10 months of the school year was 24, Long said the CNMI will issue a 2.4-day benefit to eligible children not enrolled in structured centers ($8.28X2.4=$19.87) for each month that the child was enrolled in NAP.

For children enrolled in NAP in all of the months of August through May, the benefit will total $198.72, or 24 days’ worth of benefits.

In August 2021, DCCA started distributing P-EBT coupons in the CNMI. In November 2021, DCCA started distributing Summer P-EBT coupons in the CNMI. Summer P-EBT was an extension of P-EBT.