BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Late Friday afternoon, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) announced that the state would not be participating in the Summer EBT program offered by the federal government.
“Every child deserves a safe home, first and foremost, and families deserve a pathway to self-sufficiency. That is our primary mission,” said DCFS Secretary David Matlock. “Staying focused on that mission, without adding piecemeal programs that come with more strings than long-term solutions, is what will deliver the biggest impact for the children and families we serve.”
Following the announcement, some elected officials began to push back on the administration’s decision to turn down around $71 million in support that the USDA estimates could have benefitted 594,000 children. The federal government would have covered the benefits cost and half of the administrative cost, and the state would have had to cover the other half.
Congressman Troy Carter had a heated message for Landry and his administration. The program was an extension of a pandemic-era assistance program to help make sure low-income children were eating outside of school. Congress approved the measure in 2022.