Hundreds of Kentucky parents who were told they would be referred to debt collectors if they did not repay the state for unsolicited food assistance cards are now being told… never mind.
The families are receiving letters this week from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services telling them to disregard previous letters demanding repayment for the Summer EBT cards they never requested.
“If you received either of these letters, please disregard them,” wrote CHFS Sec. Steven Stack in bold and underlined font. “We apologize for the confusion.”
Kentucky Public Radio first reported last week that at least dozens of parents in Scott County received food assistance cards worth $120 per child in their household earlier this summer, but then started receiving follow up letters requiring them to pay back the full amount.
The letters threatening referral to debt collection agencies if a payment was not received within 30 days went to both parents who never used the cards, and parents who only used it after verifying that they were eligible to use them.
Summer EBT is part of a federal program supporting low-income families who lose access to free school meals over the summer months.
After the publication of the story, agencies in the administration of Gov. Andy Beshear finally replied to inquiries about the situation. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services said that 1,462 families who received the cards were ineligible, but had their kids enrolled because of “inaccurate information provided by the Kentucky Department of Education.” A spokesperson for the cabinet added that roughly 700 of the cards had been used by Friday, totaling $76,267 of benefits spent.
A spokesperson for the Kentucky Department of Education indicated Monday that while most of the families affected by its error were in Scott County, there were also hundreds of families affected in three other public school districts.
In Scott County, 778 cards were sent in error. There were also 369 cards erroneously sent to students in Bullitt County, 165 in Boone County and 148 in the Walton-Verona Independent School District within Boone County.
The new letters showing up in families’ mailboxes this week were dated and mailed on Friday. They stated that families should no longer use the Summer EBT cards.
“We are committed to supporting Kentuckians and being deserving of the trust you place in us,” Stack wrote.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
