College student cut from our CalFresh case - can my daughter apply separately while living at home?

Unfortunately, college students have really strict eligibility rules for CalFresh. She would need to meet one of the student exemptions like working 20+ hours weekly, having work-study, caring for a young child, or being in certain qualifying programs. Even if she applies separately, she'd need to meet one of these exemptions. One option: many colleges now have programs specifically to help students qualify - does her college have a CalFresh outreach office? They might be able to connect her with work-study or an eligible training program that would exempt her from the work requirement.

ugh this happened to my brother too!! the whole student thing is SUPER frustrating. we had to get him a weekend job just to keep him on our case. its ridiculous cuz students need to eat too!!!! try having her join calfresh employment training program - i think thats one of the exemptions

I work with CalFresh policy, and there's a critical exemption your daughter might qualify for that hasn't been mentioned. If she receives CalGrant A or B, that automatically qualifies her as exempt from the student work requirement. Also, check if she's eligible for the EOP (Educational Opportunity Program) at her college, as participation in that counts too. Regarding your benefits for just you and your son: make sure your worker correctly recalculated your shelter deduction when they removed your daughter. Often benefits don't drop as much as expected when household size changes because your shelter costs remained the same but are now divided among fewer people.

When I tried calling the county about my daughter's case last year, I kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual worker instead of just the automated system. They got me connected to a live person in about 10 minutes! They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8. Honestly, it saved me so much frustration when trying to sort out our student exemption issue.

This might be a stupid question but have you reported your summer income correctly? Because if you don't get paid during summer months that should increase your benefits during those months. I'm a teacher's aide too and my CalFresh goes up in July/August because I report zero income those months on my SAR7. You should be getting the maximum allotment for a household of 2 during summer if you have no income!

The system is RIDICULOUS. My son is in college too and they expect these kids to somehow handle full course loads AND work 20+ hours???? Then they wonder why graduation rates are low. I've been fighting with my county for 3 months trying to get them to understand that his disability makes working impossible. The worker literally told me "then he shouldn't be in college" - can you believe that?? The whole system is designed to keep people poor and uneducated.

One more thing to consider - if your daughter is taking any courses related to career technical education (CTE), that can qualify her as exempt from the work requirement. Many general education courses actually fall under CTE and students don't realize it. Have her check with her academic counselor specifically about whether any of her current courses meet the CTE criteria for CalFresh purposes. Regarding your summer income situation, you should absolutely report your actual income changes when they happen! File a 'Change Report' (not waiting for your SAR7) as soon as school lets out stating your income has dropped to zero. Your benefits should increase substantially for those months.

Oh yea also check if her school has a food pantry!! Lots of colleges have free food resources for students now bc they finally realized students are starving lol. My nephew gets like half his groceries from his campus pantry

Yes, you would need to report when your income resumes in the fall. However, if that falls within 10 days of when your next SAR7 is due, you can just report it on the SAR7 instead of filing a separate change report. For your daughter, here's the complete list of student exemptions she might qualify for: 1. Working 20+ hours weekly 2. Approved for work-study (even if not currently working) 3. CalGrant A or B recipient 4. Taking care of a dependent under 6 5. Taking care of a dependent 6-11 if no adequate childcare 6. EOP/EOPS participation 7. WIOA/SNAP E&T program participation 8. Single parent of a child under 12 9. Career Technical Education program (CTE) 10. College Promise Program participation Check each one carefully - many students qualify without realizing it.

Just wanted to add that if your daughter is receiving any financial aid at all (not just CalGrant), she might qualify for the College Promise Program exemption. Many community colleges automatically enroll students in this program if they're getting any form of financial aid, but students don't always realize it. I'd suggest having her check with the financial aid office - they can tell her right away if she's in any qualifying programs. Also, about your summer income situation - definitely report that change ASAP! I made the same mistake for years and lost out on hundreds of dollars in benefits during summer months. The system is confusing but once you know how to work it, it can actually help a lot more than people realize.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - the student eligibility rules are really tough to navigate. One thing that might help immediately while you're figuring out your daughter's exemptions: have you considered applying for emergency food assistance through your local food bank? Many don't have the same strict student rules as CalFresh and can provide groceries while you work through this process. Also, since you mentioned your daughter's grades are slipping, check if her college has academic support services - some schools have programs that help students balance work and school if she does end up needing to work for the CalFresh exemption. The combination of tutoring support plus a small work-study job might be more manageable than a regular job. Hang in there - this community has given you some really solid leads to follow up on!