CalFresh overpayment notice for $3,200 - do I have to repay when household member wasn't living with me?

OMG this exact thing happened to me last year!!! The county decided my ex was part of my household because he picks up our kids 3 days a week and sometimes stays for dinner. They hit me with a $2,800 overpayment. I filed an appeal right away - you only have 90 days from the notice date so don't wait!

You should definitely appeal this decision. CalFresh regulations are clear that household composition is based on who purchases and prepares food together regularly. If the children's father maintains his own separate residence and doesn't regularly purchase and prepare meals with you, he shouldn't be considered part of your CalFresh household regardless of using your address for some mail. When you file your appeal, gather evidence like his lease agreement, utility bills at his address, or any court documents showing separate residences. Also, request all documents the county used to make their determination through a record request.

I work with benefit appeals, and there's an important distinction here. You need to appeal the household composition determination first, which is separate from the overpayment. If you can prove he doesn't live with you, the overpayment becomes invalid. Also, you should know about the Administrative Disqualification Hearing process vs. regular appeals. Request a state hearing within 90 days and specifically challenge both the household composition determination AND the overpayment amount. Bring documentation showing separate residences (his lease, bills, driver's license, tax filing status as separate households, etc).

Wait I'm confused about something. If they're counting your kids' dad as part of your household, aren't they also counting his income? That would explain why your benefit went from $1250 to $350. So they're basically saying you had unreported income in the household those 3 months. The overpayment makes sense from their perspective even if it's wrong about him living with you.

your gonna need to request a fair hearing right away!!! i had almost the same thing happen with my roommate, they said we were sharing food and counted his income (we NEVER shared food!!!) and gave me a $1,800 overpayment. the whole system is designed to screw over people who need help ughhhh

I've been dealing with CalFresh for years, and I've fought overpayment claims successfully twice. Here's what works: 1) Call your county office IMMEDIATELY and request a fair hearing AND ask to speak with a supervisor about the claim before the hearing. 2) Gather all evidence proving separate residences (leases, bills, mail, etc). 3) Get statements from neighbors or family confirming separate households if possible. 4) Ask for a payment plan or hardship reduction even while appealing - this shows good faith. 5) Request all evidence they used to make the determination. I've found that getting through to the right person at the county office can be nearly impossible though - I spent 3 weeks calling daily to reach a supervisor. I recently found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me skip the phone queues and actually get through to someone. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Totally worth it when you're facing a $3,200 overpayment claim.

Make sure you check the overpayment notice carefully for the 'reason code' - they should have a specific regulation they're citing. My notice had something about 'failure to report household composition change' with a specific regulation number. When I researched that regulation, I found the exact definition of a household member that I could use in my appeal. Also, ask for a 'conditional withdrawal' of the claim while you gather evidence - sometimes they'll pause collection.

u know what really gets me is they say he shud be on ur case cause he gets mail at ur house??? since when does mail = living together lol. i have mail going to my moms house still but i dont live with her!!! this is just them trying to take money back any way they can!!!

Update: I managed to speak with someone at the county office this morning! I explained the situation about separate households and they said I need to submit proof like his lease agreement, utility bills, and a written statement about our living arrangements. They also said I should formally request a state hearing using the form on the back of my notice. I'm gathering all the documents now and will submit everything by tomorrow. The worker also mentioned something about 'administrative error' vs 'inadvertent household error' overpayments having different repayment requirements? Does anyone know what that means?

just fyi you should look into the 'compromised claims' option if your appeal doesn't work. sometimes they'll settle for a lower amount especially if u can prove financial hardship. my sister had a $5k overpayment and they reduced it to like $2k because she had medical bills and stuff.

I'm dealing with something similar right now! My ex gets mail at my place for our daughter's school stuff and now they're saying he's part of my household even though he lives 20 minutes away with his girlfriend. The frustrating part is I reported him as the father on my application but clearly stated he doesn't live with us. It feels like they're just looking for reasons to claw back benefits. I'm definitely going to file an appeal after reading all this advice. Has anyone had success showing that co-parenting arrangements don't equal living together? I have our custody agreement that shows we have separate addresses.