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Cumberland County named pilot for state rollout of chip-and-tap EBT cards; county staff to help residents with new mailing process
Summary
Cheryl Golden, director of the Division of Social Services, told county commissioners that New Jersey will centralize printing and mailing of upgraded chip-and-tap EBT cards; Cumberland County is a pilot and the state expects to mail informational materials and cards beginning mid-June with a pilot start in early July.
Cheryl Golden, director of the Cumberland County Division of Social Services, told commissioners that New Jersey will move to chip-and-tap EBT cards and centralize card printing and mailing to reduce fraudulent "skimming" of SNAP benefits. Golden said the change will protect recipients whose card data and PINs have been captured at retailer point-of-sale devices, which can leave families without food purchasing power until the next allotment.
Golden said the state-led rollout has completed approvals and will pilot upgraded cards in three counties beginning in early July; Cumberland County is one of the pilot counties. "New Jersey has been approved to use not only the chip functionality, but all of the new cards will also be able to be tapped," Golden said, calling the change "great news for these families" while noting it will change how cards are received.
Under the new process, county social services offices will no longer print or mail EBT cards. Golden said the state will mail cards and informational materials (the county was told informational mailings would go out on or around June 15), and that recipients should expect a delivery timeframe of about a week after case approval or after reporting a lost or stolen card. Golden said county staff will continue to assist clients in reporting lost or stolen cards and in ordering replacements, but "we won't be distributing them."
Golden acknowledged the transition may slow some replacements: "Instead of getting it within 2 or 3 days, they may wait a week," she said, but added that "the benefit of those dollars being secured I think is worth the couple more days wait." She asked commissioners and county agencies to help get information online and to direct residents with questions to social services staff.
Why it matters: Golden framed the upgrade as a trade-off between a modest increase in wait time for replacement cards and a material reduction in fraud risk. The county role will shift from printing and distribution to outreach and assistance with reporting and ordering replacement cards.
The county's Division of Social Services will share the state's informational materials with the county webmaster and help publicize the change; staff urged commissioners and nonprofit partners to be prepared for resident inquiries during the pilot and statewide rollout.
