12210 Eligibility
Children eligible for Summer EBT include those who, at any point during the period of eligibility, are:
School-aged (7 to 17 years) and receiving Food Assistance, TANF, or Foster Care benefits; or
Enrolled in an National School Lunch Program/Summer Breakfast Program participating school, other than a special provision school, and
Receiving or eligible to receive free or reduced price school meals; or
Determined eligible through a Summer EBT application.
Enrolled in a special provision school in which all students receive free lunch, and
Receiving or eligible to receive FRSL; or
Determined eligible through a Summer EBT application.
NOTE: A child does not need to be a United States citizen to be eligible for Summer EBT.
NOTE: Shortly before auto-issuance the approved applications will be checked and any children who entered into foster care since their application was approved will be temporarily denied until DCF can confirm the correct address. They may still be eligible, but they need to apply.
12220 Streamlined Certification
Streamlined Certification is the process of automatically enrolling an eligible child for Summer EBT with no additional requirements of the family. Families who do not meet streamlined certification criteria may still be eligible for Summer EBT and will be able to apply for benefits.
Eligibility determinations will be made by DCF in conjunction with the Kansas Department of Education (KSDE). If a school-aged child (between 7 and 17 years old) can be identified as being eligible through participation in Food Assistance (FA), TANF, or Foster Care (FC) programs at any point in the period of eligibility (defined as the period from the first day of instructional year immediately preceding the summer operational period through the last day of the summer operational period) the child will be eligible for Summer EBT and DCF will attempt to automatically issue the benefits without need for further application or confirmation of school enrollment. If a child can be identified as both enrolled in a National School Lunch Program-participating school and receiving free or reduced-price school lunch the child will be eligible for Summer EBT and DCF will attempt to issue benefits.
12230 Income
To certify children as being income-eligible, DCF will collect information about the income received by each member of the household to determine if the household as a whole meets the income eligibility requirements. Income requirements are used to verify students for free and reduced-price school meals, which is gross income of the household that is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.
DCF will collect income information about each member of the household applying for benefits. Income includes earnings, wages, Supplmental Security Income (SSI), TANF cash assistance, non-federal housing subsidies, pensions, support payments, unemployment compensation, Social Security, and other cash income including cash amounts drawn from any source, including savings, investments, trust accounts, and other resources that are available to pay for a child’s meals.
Calculating income: DCF must use the income information provided by the household on the application to calculate the household's total current income. DCF will not require income documentation at the time of application. However, if an application is selected for verification either for cause or as part of the 3% random sample (see verification section), DCF will need documentation of income before benefits can be issued.
For the current year income standards see KEESM Appendix F-6.
The information provided only needs to indicate eligibility at a single point in time during the period of eligibility, not that the child was eligible at the time of application or verification. For example, if a household applies during the Summer Operational Period and the household is denied due to being over income, but once they receive a denial they reach out and say that they just started a new job in April but were unemployed before then. DCF will then use the information provided to process Summer EBT benefits. In these situations, DCF will likely choose to utilize verification for cause (see below).
The Income Eligibility Guidelines are published annually and change on July 1. The guidelines in effect on the date of application must be used to determine eligibility.
Households are not required to report changes in circumstances during the instructional year or summer operational period, but a household may voluntarily report any changes in income, household composition, or program participation.