CalFresh benefits drastically reduced after adding new household member - need urgent help!
I recently added my sister to my CalFresh household after she moved in with me and my two kids (she lost her job). I reported the change through BenefitsCal and uploaded her ID and income verification documents. Our benefits just came through and they dropped from $650/month to only $175!! How can this be right? We're a household of 4 now with even LESS total income than before (she's only getting unemployment). I called the county office repeatedly but get disconnected every time. My sister has dietary restrictions too (celiac) so our food costs have actually gone UP. Do I need to file an appeal? Is there a calculation error? We literally cannot feed everyone on $175/month.
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Liam Brown
Did you report her unemployment income correctly? The system calculates benefits based on TOTAL household income, even if your individual income hasn't changed. What's her weekly UI benefit amount? Remember CalFresh counts gross income before any deductions. Also make sure they're counting all 4 people in your household size - sometimes they accidentally don't update that part.
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Emma Johnson
•Her UI is $370/week (about $1,600/month). My income is only $2,300/month, so together that's $3,900 for a family of 4. From the income charts I found online, we should still qualify for more than $175! And yes, I double-checked the letter they sent - it does list 4 household members. So confused rn.
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Olivia Garcia
the same EXACT thing happened to my cousin when her mom moved in!!! the county calculated it all wrong and she had to call like 10 times to get it fixed. something about they didnt apply the correct standard deduction for the household size i think??
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Emma Johnson
•Ugh, that's frustrating but glad to hear it might be fixable! Did she have to talk to a supervisor or just keep calling until she got someone helpful?
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Noah Lee
You should definitely request a fair hearing. It sounds like they might not have applied the correct utility allowance or standard deduction for your new household size. With $3,900 gross income for 4 people, you should be eligible for more benefits after deductions. Make sure they also counted your housing costs correctly - rent/mortgage should reduce your countable income. When you call, ask specifically for them to explain the "income calculation worksheet" for your case. They should be able to break down exactly how they calculated your benefit amount. If there's an error, they can correct it and issue emergency supplemental benefits.
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Emma Johnson
•Thank you! That's exactly what I needed. I'll ask for the income calculation worksheet. We pay $2,100 in rent plus utilities, so that should definitely be factored in.
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Ava Hernandez
I was in the EXACT same situation last year! Added my brother to household and benefits tanked. I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at the county. Kept getting disconnected or waiting 2+ hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at the CalFresh office in under 10 minutes. They had messed up our utility allowance AND didn't apply the earned income deduction correctly. Got it all fixed and they issued back benefits too. Check out their demo video if you're struggling to get through: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8
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Isabella Martin
•does that actually work?? im always on hold for like an hour+ and then get disconnected
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Ava Hernandez
•Honestly it saved my sanity. I was about to give up after trying for 3 days straight. Got through in minutes and fixed my issue in one call.
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Elijah Jackson
Question- did they COUNT your sister as a separate household maybe??? Sometimes if the person isn't related by blood or doesn't share food with you (like if she buys/prepares separately), they could count her as a separate household. My county worker tried to do this to me when my cousin moved in and I had to explain we shop and cook together. Seriously the rules are SO CONFUSING!
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Emma Johnson
•She's my biological sister and we definitely prepare meals together! I even mentioned that specifically when I updated our household. Seems like they just made a calculation error somewhere. Hoping to get through to them tomorrow!
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Sophia Miller
just so u know the max benefit for a fam of 4 in 2025 is like $990 i think, so yeah ur getting waaaaay less than u should with that income. def call and request a recalculation. also make sure ur claiming any medical expenses for ur sister's celiac - special dietary needs can count as a medical deduction!!
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Emma Johnson
•Wait really?? I had no idea about the medical deduction for her dietary needs. She spends at least $200 extra a month on gluten-free products. Thanks for that tip!
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Isabella Martin
omg I hate when CalFresh does this!!! they ALWAYS mess up calculations and then make US do all the work to fix THEIR mistakes! and then we're the ones who go hungry while waiting! the whole system is designed to discourage people from getting help they deserve!
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Liam Brown
•While errors do happen, most are unintentional. The CalFresh system processes millions of cases with complex rules. Rather than assuming malice, it's better to calmly request a recalculation with specific questions about which deductions were applied. Most workers genuinely want to help eligible households get the correct benefit amount.
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Noah Lee
One other thing to check - make sure they didn't accidentally count your sister's previous income from before she lost her job. I've seen cases where they mistakenly used old income information rather than the current unemployment. Also, did you report her as "mandatory" or "non-mandatory" when adding her? Everyone who lives together and purchases/prepares food together should be mandatory.
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Emma Johnson
•I'm pretty sure I listed her as mandatory since we definitely shop and cook together. But maybe they did use old income info... she was making a lot more at her previous job than she gets on unemployment. I'll specifically ask about that when I call tomorrow. Thanks for the tip!
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Olivia Garcia
hey did u ever get this resolved?? my friend just had her benefits drop after adding her mom to the case too so wondering what happened with yours
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Emma Johnson
•Yes! Finally got through yesterday. Turns out they had accidentally counted my sister's previous income FROM HER JOB along with her unemployment! So they had us at like $5,500 household income instead of $3,900. They fixed it and our benefits are going up to $780 next month, plus they're giving us back pay for this month's shortage. Tell your friend to check if they did something similar!
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Liam McGuire
•That's amazing Emma! So glad you got it sorted out. My friend is dealing with the exact same thing - they added her mom who's on social security and their benefits dropped way more than they should have. I'll tell her to specifically ask them to check if they're double-counting income sources. Thanks for the update!
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