Since no one's addressed this directly yet - it's very unlikely both cards will get $391 EVERY month. That initial amount could be: 1) One card is Cash Aid, one is CalFresh (most likely) 2) Retroactive benefits from your application date 3) A combination of current month + prorated amount from application date Your actual ongoing monthly benefit depends on your family size, income, and county of residence. For a parent with one or two children with minimal income, $391 sounds about right for CalFresh, but Cash Aid would likely be different. Once you sort out which card is which, put a label on them so you don't mix them up! The Cash Aid can be used anywhere, but CalFresh can only be used for food items. Using the wrong card at the wrong place is a common mistake that causes a lot of stress.

u need to check the balance on each card separately cause the amounts will be diffrent each month depending on if u reported any income on ur SAR7!!! If u miss reporting income ur benefits will get cut off real fast so DONT FORGET to turn in ur SAR7 every 6 months!!!! i lernded that lesson the hard way lol

One more thing to check - look at your EBT transaction history around the date your benefits normally get deposited. Sometimes the correct amount will be deposited even if BenefitsCal hasn't updated to show the new amount. The actual payment system and the customer portal don't always sync up perfectly.

did u check ur income reporting threshold (IRT) on the sar7? if u went over that number even for 1 month they might not increase ur benefits

Make sure you're also documenting the identity theft issue separately from your CalWORKs case. Since this involves your child's SSN, you should: 1. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov 2. Place a credit freeze with all three credit bureaus (yes, even for a child) 3. Contact the Social Security Administration to flag the number for monitoring As for your CalWORKs case, you have the right to request a Reasonable Accommodation as I mentioned before. But also ask specifically for your case to be marked with a Special Indicator for identity theft. This can help prevent automatic discontinuance during the computer processing of your recertification.

did u try going in person to the calworks office?? sometimes thats way better than trying to call. the workers at the front desk might be able to help u right there or at least tell u what forms to fill out

Just a heads up - if this happens again and you're in danger of eviction, you can apply for emergency funds through CalWORKs. They have an emergency payment option that can be processed same-day in some counties if you're facing imminent eviction. You'd need to get documentation from your landlord though. Hope your payment comes through soon!

UPDATE: My Cash Aid just showed up in my account a few minutes ago!!! Two days late but at least it's here. Sounds like it was a system-wide issue like several of you mentioned. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions!

my sister works for the county (not calworks tho) and she said they did upgrade their whole computer system last weekend and its causing ALL KINDS of problems across different benefit programs. she said they're working overtime trying to fix everything!!

UPDATE: Just checked my account and my payment just posted!! Finally showing as deposited not pending. Check your accounts everyone!!