I'm so sorry this happened to your family - EBT theft is incredibly stressful, especially with kids to feed. I went through this exact situation about 8 months ago when someone stole $890 from our card. The good news is that I did get my full benefits back, and it took exactly 9 business days. Here's what helped me during the waiting period: 1. Document EVERYTHING - save screenshots of all the fraudulent transactions from your EBT account online 2. Keep your police report number handy - they may ask for it again 3. Call your county worker directly (not just the EBT hotline) to confirm your claim is being processed 4. Contact 211 immediately for emergency food assistance while you wait I was terrified they wouldn't replace the money, but as long as you reported it quickly (which you did) and the transactions clearly weren't yours, they will replace it. The 7-10 business day timeframe is pretty accurate in my experience. Hang in there - I know it feels hopeless right now, but you WILL get your benefits back. Focus on getting emergency food help for your kids in the meantime.

I'm a social worker who helps families navigate CalFresh issues, and I want to reassure you that legitimate theft claims like yours do get approved. Since you reported it immediately, have clear fraudulent transactions at unfamiliar locations, and filed a police report, your case should be straightforward. A few additional tips while you wait: - Keep checking your EBT account online daily - the benefits often appear before you get any official notification - If you haven't already, ask your kids' school about weekend backpack programs or emergency meal assistance - Many churches and community centers offer free meals without requiring documentation - WIC offices sometimes have emergency food resources even if you don't qualify for WIC The 7-10 business day window is standard, but I've seen theft claims involving larger amounts (like yours at $1,025) sometimes take the full 10 days because they require additional supervisor approval. Your case sounds very legitimate though - hang in there, and don't hesitate to call your county office if you haven't heard anything by day 8.

Update: I called this morning after gathering all our expense info. Turns out there were TWO issues: 1) They had my husband's income entered incorrectly - they had him earning $600 more per month than he actually does! 2) They didn't have our updated rent amount. After fixing both issues, our benefits are going up to $380 per month plus the COLA adjustment which will make it about $425! That's a HUGE difference from $150. The worker said the changes should show up in the next issuance. Thank you all for encouraging me to call and for explaining what to ask about!

This is such great news! I'm so glad you called and got everything straightened out. Going from $150 to $425 is life-changing for a family of 4. Your story is a perfect example of why it's so important to advocate for yourself and not just accept what you're given. Income reporting errors happen way too often in the system, and many people probably don't even realize their benefits are calculated wrong. Thanks for sharing the update - it will definitely help other families who might be in similar situations know that it's worth making that call even when it seems overwhelming!

I'm so glad to see the P names are finally starting to come through! My son's name is Pablo and we just got our payment this morning too. I was getting really worried because we had already planned our grocery budget around that $535. For anyone still waiting, I noticed mine posted around 6 AM, so definitely check early in the morning. The whole alphabetical rollout system really needs to be reconsidered - it puts so much unnecessary stress on families who are already struggling. At least now we know the technical issues have been resolved!

Just wanted to add my experience - I'm also a parent with a child whose name starts with P (Priya) and we FINALLY received our P-EBT payment yesterday! After reading through all these comments, I checked with some other parents in my daughter's class and it looks like most of the P names in our area got their payments between Monday and Wednesday of this week. For anyone still waiting, I'd definitely recommend checking your balance first thing in the morning like Jacob mentioned - ours posted around 5:30 AM on Tuesday. I also want to echo what others have said about the food banks being understanding about the P-EBT delays. We ended up going to our local food pantry last week when we were running low on groceries, and they were super helpful and didn't make us jump through any extra hoops. Hang in there everyone who's still waiting - it really does seem like they've worked through the technical issues now!

lol welcome to government websites, where nothing works and everything is a headache 🤡

I actually work for a county eligibility office and see this issue pretty frequently. The phone number conflict usually happens because: 1) Someone in your household previously used that number for their CalFresh account, 2) You had an old account that wasn't properly closed, or 3) There's a data entry error in the system. The fastest solution is usually to visit your local county office in person with ID - they can update it on the spot without the phone runaround. You can also try emailing your county's CalFresh coordinator directly (each county has one) - they're usually more responsive than the general helpline.

be careful!! my cousin got an overpayment notice bcuz she didnt report a side job and now they take money out of her benefits every month to pay it back. its better to just tell them everything even if u dont have to

I just wanted to add some clarification since I've been through this exact situation recently. The SAR 7 form is super important - don't ignore it when it comes! I almost missed mine because I moved and didn't update my address right away. Also, even though your part-time income is way below your IRT, I'd recommend keeping a simple log of when you work and how much you earn. It makes filling out the SAR 7 so much easier when you have everything organized. I use a basic spreadsheet with date, hours worked, and gross pay. One more tip: if your income from this job varies month to month (like if some events get cancelled), just report what you actually received during the reporting period, not what you expected to earn. The county wants actual income, not projected income.