MA Expands P-EBT to Kids Under Six Receiving SNAP, Increases All P-EBT Benefits by 15%

On March 4th Massachusetts became the second state to receive federal approval to expand the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program to households with children under six years old who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. All P-EBT benefit amounts will also be increasing by 15%. Recent federal actions extended P-EBT to this new population and increased the benefit amount by 15%.

P-EBT promotes increased food security for families who participate in the United States Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP), covering the cost of school meals for students in remote or hybrid learning environments during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

An estimated 96,000 eligible children in Massachusetts under age six will receive their first P-EBT benefits for the next round at the end of March. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) estimates the expansion of P-EBT for these children will bring provide more than $100 million in additional federal dollars for Massachusetts families.

Households with children under six who get SNAP benefits will receive either $136.40 a month or $68.20 a month. In accordance with federal guidance, the benefit amount will be determined based on DESE K-12 education learning mode trends, and families will be notified of the benefit amount.

All future P-EBT benefits for children under age six will be issued on the 25^th of each month for the duration of the program. They will also receive a special one-time payment in early April to retroactively cover the months of October through January.

Starting March 25^th, eligible students in school grades K-12 will see the 15% increase in their P-EBT benefits. With the 15% increase, students in fully remote learning environments will now receive $136.40 a month and those in hybrid learning environments will receive $68.20. Based on federal rules, families may receive varying P-EBT amounts. A one-time special payment will be issued in early April to account for the increase going back to October.

Households with children under age six who receive SNAP will receive their P-EBT benefits on their SNAP EBT card. Families can check their P-EBT balance on DTAConnect.com, the DTA Connect mobile app or by calling the number on the back of their card. P-EBT benefits can be used anywhere SNAP benefits are accepted, including online from Walmart, Amazon and ALDI. Learn more about P-EBT at MAp-EBT.org.

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The above is a condensed version of the full press release.
Please click here to read the press release in full, which includes info. on how to check your benefits.

The above press release was courtesy of the Massachusetts
Department of Transitional Assistance

Updates from state government

• As of Sunday night, DPH reported a total of 590,961 cases of COVID-19. The state reported 2,362 new confirmed cases. The state has now confirmed a total of 16,746 deaths from the virus.
• Under the federal Community Vaccination Center program officials will deploy “mobile units” in Chelsea, Revere and Boston to administer some of the federal doses. State officials will conduct community outreach to help vulnerable residents sign up for appointments, and the existing pre-registration system will remain in place with “no disruption” as the federal expansion comes online, Baker’s office said.
• Massachusetts employers added 14,100 jobs in February as the state’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent, labor officials announced Friday. The joblessness rate dropped 0.7 percentage points from January, and it now stands at the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic hit more than a year ago. February’s rate was 0.9 percentage points higher than the national rate of 6.2 percent.
• The Massachusetts unemployment rate remains more than twice as high as the 2.7 percent joblessness rate reported in March 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data based on a household survey. Using a separate survey of employers, labor officials estimated that the private sector in Massachusetts gained 22,300 jobs in February while government employment dropped by 8,200.
• The governor on Friday afternoon signed the long-discussed legislation designed to commit Massachusetts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, establish interim emissions goals between now and the middle of the century, adopt energy efficiency standards for appliances, authorize another 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind power and address needs in environmental justice communities. Baker and the Legislature see eye-to-eye when it comes to the goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the details of how the state would get there proved to be a much more complicated conversation.
• The new law requires that greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 be at least 50 percent lower than 1990 emissions, that 2040 emissions be at least 75 percent lower and that 2050 emissions be at least 85 percent below 1990 emissions. In order to actually net out at zero emissions by 2050, the state will have to make up the remainder, up to 15 percent, through strategies like carbon sequestration and carbon banking. The Baker administration has similarly embraced natural climate solutions in its own climate plans.
• The law also requires the executive branch to set interim limits for 2025, 2035 and 2045, and to set sublimits for six sectors of the economy – electric power; transportation; commercial and industrial heating and cooling; residential heating and cooling; industrial processes; and natural gas distribution and service – every five years. Each five-year emissions limit “shall be accompanied by publication of a comprehensive, clear and specific roadmap plan to realize said limit,” the law requires.
• That work will begin almost immediately. The first interim plan required by the new law, the plan for 2025, must be in place along with the 2025 emissions limit by July 1, 2022.
• The bill also requires the Department of Public Utilities to consider emissions reductions on an equal footing as its considerations of reliability and affordability within 90 days, that the governor appoint three green building experts to the Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and that the administration establish the first-ever greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal for the home energy efficiency program MassSave. The law, through one of Baker’s amendments, newly requires the Department of Environmental Protection to conduct cumulative impact analysis as a condition of permitting certain projects to ensure that environmental justice communities, neighborhoods that are mostly made up of people with lower incomes and people of color that are at risk of being negatively and disproportionately impacted by environmental policies, no longer bear an undue burden of air pollution.
• Offshore wind is becoming an increasingly important part of the state’s energy and environmental strategies and the new law requires that the executive branch direct Massachusetts utilities to buy an additional 2,400 MW of offshore wind power generation. So far, Massachusetts lawmakers have authorized the procurement of a total of 3,200 MW of offshore wind power. The Vineyard Wind I and Mayflower Wind projects are under contract for a combined roughly 1,600 MW and the state is in the early stages of a third procurement, one that could fulfill the remaining 1,600 MW of authorization with a single project.
• The Baker administration agreed to pay McKinsey & Co. nearly $1.6 million to study the “future of work” in Massachusetts, according to a copy of the contract with the global firm that has come under fire in recent days by legislators and Attorney General Maura Healey. The governor’s office awarded the contract Tuesday, but until Friday had not released the details of its agreement with the global consulting firm. McKinsey agreed to produce the report sought by Baker to help plan for a post-pandemic economic recovery within the next seven weeks.
• In return, Massachusetts will pay the firm $1,596,500, according to the fixed-price contract. While it’s unclear how many other firms bid on the project, McKinsey highlighted its experience working in the state and with the Baker administration as a reason its bid stood out. The company said it has worked with agencies on over 30 projects over the past five years “giving us insight into the broader political, regulatory, labor relations, infrastructure, and public relations environment in Massachusetts.”

Special thanks to MassAccess for providing these updates.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 369 with 26 new cases today. 15,857 Lynn residents have recovered and 208 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 16,434. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available at Lynn Tech Fieldhouse for people who live or work in Lynn & Nahant or are Lynn Community Health Center Patients and meet state eligibility requirements (Massachusetts Phase 1 & Phase 2 Steps 1, 2, 3 & 4: 60 year of age or older or with two or more chronic health conditions, Educators and certain workers. Residents age 75+ may be accompanied by one caregiver who can book an appointment themselves.) Please visit https://www.lchcnet.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling to make an appointment online. Residents without access to the Internet can call 2-1-1 to make an appointment 7 days a week.

Please visit http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/resources.shtml#p7GPc1_2 for the most up to date COVID-19 testing information, as well as more detailed information on the State and City of Lynn’s Reopening Guidelines. We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).