EBT benefits and cash aid missing after county transfer - BenefitsCal shows approved but nothing loaded

County transfers can definitely cause delays, but if BenefitsCal shows it was approved and scheduled for today, something's wrong. When benefits aren't loaded on time during a transfer, it's usually because the 'sending' county closed the case before the 'receiving' county fully activated it. She needs to speak directly with her new eligibility worker in Sacramento County. For the theft claim, those are handled separately by the EBT contractor (not the county) and can take 30-90 days to process. But her regular May benefits shouldn't be affected by that claim.

same thing hapened to me when i moved from SF to alameda county last year. took almost 3 weeks to get my benefits back even tho the website said approved. its like they forget to flip the switch or something lol

County transfers are NOTORIOUS for these problems! I work with homeless clients and see this constantly. The system is completely broken. Your roommate needs to contact BOTH counties immediately. Riverside needs to confirm they properly transferred the case (not just closed it), and Sacramento needs to confirm they've fully activated it in their system. If BenefitsCal shows it as approved, she should ask for EMERGENCY BENEFITS since she has children. They can issue emergency CalFresh within 3 days if she qualifies - which she would if she has no food and children. And don't get me started on EBT theft claims - they're shamefully slow about processing those! The banks would never get away with taking 90 days to refund stolen debit card money!

I worked at a county call center and tbh the county transfer process is a mess. Most likely what's happening is the case is in limbo between computer systems. Here's what she should do: 1. Call Sacramento's ACCESS line first thing tomorrow morning 2. Tell them she needs to speak to a supervisor about a transfer case with missing benefits 3. Have her BenefitsCal case number AND her old Riverside case number ready 4. Ask specifically about "expedited transfer resolution" (that's the internal term) 5. Request emergency benefits for her children while they fix the transfer If she can't get through on the phone, she should physically go to the Sacramento County office with all her documentation and ask to speak with a transfer specialist or supervisor.

Omg have her check her EBT card physical expiration date!! My benefits disappeared during my county transfer and it turned out my card had expired that same month! The new county was trying to load benefits to an expired card. Had to go in person to get a new one and they backdated my benefits.

when i had this problem last year i couldn't get thru on the phone at all. kept getting disconnected after waiting like 45 mins. i finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person at the county. they called me back when they were connected to someone so i didn't have to wait on hold. saved my sanity honestly! they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/eZ19FHRETv8?si=_CXnXqNXbLl26WB8

Is your roommate sure she completed all the transfer paperwork correctly? When I moved counties, I thought I did everything right but it turned out I missed checking one tiny box on page 3 of the transfer form about maintaining the same household composition. That delayed everything by a month! It's infuriating how one small mistake can mess everything up.

Just FYI - if she has children and is completely without food/money, she should also immediately contact 211 for emergency food assistance. Many food banks can provide emergency boxes same-day. It won't fix her CalFresh/CalWORKs problem, but it will ensure the kids have food while she sorts out this bureaucratic nightmare.

did they actually confirm the theft claim??? cuz i had benefits stolen too and they kept saying they were investigating but nothing happened for like 2 months and i had to keep calling

Update from my earlier comment - if she's also missing her CalWORKs benefits, this is even more serious. The county is required to process expedited CalWORKs benefits in emergency situations. She should specifically ask about "immediate need CalWORKs" which can be issued within 3 business days when there are children in the household with no resources for basic necessities. Make sure she uses these exact terms when she gets through to someone.