Can someone use CalFresh EBT deposit after reporting employment and canceling benefits?

This happens a lot with CalFresh when you report changes. The system sometimes takes a full benefit month to process cancellations, even when the worker says it's immediate. Technically, your brother should NOT use those benefits if he's over the income limit and already reported it. The county will likely discover this later during their reconciliation process and issue an overpayment notice, which means he'd have to pay it all back. Best thing to do is call the county worker again and ask them to document that he's trying to decline the benefits.

ur brother can ABSOLUTELY use the benefits that were deposited!!! the county makes the determination based on the info they had when they processed it. if they decided to give him another month thats THEIR decision not his fault. my cousin had the same thing happen and the worker told him to go ahead and use it. its already approved!

wait im confused... did he officially CANCEL or just REPORT income change? those are different things with calfrresh. if he just reported income he might still be eligible depending on how much he makes. the income limit for a single person is like $2,430 gross monthly income for 2025. if hes under that he can still get some benefits maybe

This is a classic case of CalFresh administrative lag. Here's what your brother should do: 1. Do NOT spend the benefits, as others have mentioned 2. Call the county office ASAP and speak with an eligibility worker to document the situation 3. Request a "Voluntary Repayment" form - this will allow him to return the funds without it counting as an overpayment on his record 4. Get a case note added documenting that he reported timely and is trying to resolve this If he has trouble reaching someone at the county (which is extremely common), I'd recommend trying Claimyr.com - it's a service that helps you get through to a live CalFresh worker without waiting on hold for hours. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8 showing how it works. This way he can resolve it quickly rather than spending days trying to get through.

The county ALWAYS does this!!! They take FOREVER to process cancellations but then when you need help they make you wait WEEKS!!! I cancelled my benefits when I got a job back in January and they kept loading my card for THREE MONTHS after!!! Then they had the nerve to send me an overpayment notice even though I TOLD THEM I was working!!! This system is DESIGNED to trap people and create problems!!!

i think it depends on when exactly he reported the job vs when the benefits are calculated for the month. CalFresh has this thing called the 10-day reporting rule. if he reported within 10 days of getting the job, he did everything right, but the benefits for the next month might have already been determined. did he report on the SAR7 form or just by calling?

tell him just keep the card somewhere safe and dont use it. thats wat i did when this happened 2 me. its not worth the headache of trying 2 call them and explain. after like a year they'll probably deactivate the card anyway if u dont use it

Thanks everyone for the advice! I talked to my brother and he's going to try calling first thing tomorrow. If he can't get through, he's going to try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. He definitely wants to do this right - he doesn't want to mess up any future benefits in case he needs them again someday. I'll update if we find out anything helpful for others in this situation.

Your brother is doing the right thing by being proactive about this! Just wanted to add that when he calls tomorrow, he should ask the worker to document in his case notes that he's requesting voluntary repayment of the benefits and that he reported his employment change timely. This creates a paper trail that can help if there are any issues later. Also, if the worker seems unsure about the voluntary repayment process, he can ask to speak with a supervisor - sometimes the frontline workers aren't as familiar with this option. Good luck to him, and thanks for updating us on what happens!

Just wanted to share that I went through something similar last year. When I called about voluntary repayment, the worker told me I could also visit a local office in person if I couldn't get through by phone - sometimes that's faster than waiting on hold. They had me fill out a simple form stating I wanted to return the benefits voluntarily, and they processed it within a few days. The key thing is getting that documentation that you're trying to do the right thing BEFORE they start any overpayment investigation. Also, make sure your brother keeps records of all his attempts to contact them (dates, times, who he spoke with) just in case he needs to prove he was proactive about this later.

Just want to echo what others have said about NOT using those benefits - your brother is absolutely right to be cautious! I work in benefits administration (not CalFresh specifically, but similar programs) and this kind of processing delay is unfortunately super common. The key thing is that eligibility is determined based on actual circumstances, not just what the computer system shows. Since he's earning $3,600/month and properly reported it, using those benefits could definitely result in an overpayment claim later. The voluntary repayment option that Giovanni mentioned is definitely the way to go - it shows good faith effort to resolve the issue and typically results in better treatment if there are any future interactions with the program. Document everything and keep trying to reach someone at the county office!

I had a very similar situation happen to me about 6 months ago! Called to cancel my CalFresh when I got a new job, worker said it would be processed immediately, but then I kept getting deposits for 2 more months. I was so stressed about it because I didn't want to get in trouble, but I also wasn't sure if I should use the money or not. I ended up doing exactly what everyone here is recommending - called back multiple times until I got someone who knew about the voluntary repayment process. It took about 3 weeks to fully resolve, but they were able to remove the benefits from my case without any overpayment penalties. The most important thing I learned is that you have to be persistent with calling back because not all the workers know about this option. Your brother is smart to handle this proactively - it's so much easier to deal with upfront than trying to fight an overpayment claim later!