Just to clarify something important that people often misunderstand: The guideline calculator DOES consider the father's obligation to support children from other relationships, including both biological and adopted children. However, it does NOT consider his voluntary support of stepchildren. So in your case, only his one other biological child will be factored in as a hardship deduction, not the 5 stepchildren. This is clearly stated in California Family Code Section 4071. If you go to DCSS, they will handle all aspects of your case including income verification, establishing the appropriate support amount, enforcing payment, and collecting arrears. The timeline varies but typically takes 60-90 days to get established with the first payments.

I want to thank everyone for the advice. I'm going to contact DCSS tomorrow morning and get this process started. I feel much better knowing the stepchildren won't factor into the calculation like he's been claiming all these years. I also appreciate knowing that going directly to DCSS rather than CalWORKs means I'll get the full amount of child support. I'll update once I get things moving with DCSS!

i had the same exact problem last month!!!! i submitted my paystubs for my WTW and they kept saying they didnt get them but i KNOW i uploaded them on benefitscal cause i took a picture of the confirmation screen!!! the whole system is a JOKE they expect us to follow all these strict rules but then they can just lose our stuff and not answer calls??? i ended up having to take a day off work (losing money) to go sit in the office for FIVE HOURS just to talk to someone for like 10 minutes. and my boss was mad at me for missing work. they act like we dont have lives!!!!!

One thing that might help - if you've already submitted documents through BenefitsCal, you can call and request to speak with a supervisor specifically about your submitted documents. Be polite but firm that you need confirmation they were received. Supervisors can often see documents in the system before they're fully processed by eligibility workers. Also, if your CalWORKs case is connected to Welfare to Work activities, try contacting your WTW case manager (if you have one). Sometimes they can check on document status or at least connect you with someone who can help. Hang in there - the system is frustrating but there are usually workarounds if you're persistent!

my worker told me one time theres a special code they put in the system for ppl who get theres late all the time. its like a priority code or something? my friend has it and she always gets hers on time now. maybe u should ask for that?

Update: Just checked my account and the money IS there! I guess they did deposit it early because of the holiday. Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm still going to ask about that issuance code thing next time I go in to make sure I don't have to keep dealing with this every month.

also change ur pin number as soon as u get ur new card!!! and NEVER use the same pin for anything else. my worker told me lots of ppl use the same pin for everything and thats how they get hacked sometimes

Just wanted to update everyone - I went through something similar last month and finally got my money back yesterday. Here's what worked: 1) Filed police report right away 2) Submitted the EBT 2259 form to my CalWORKs office 3) Called EVERY SINGLE DAY to check status 4) Asked to speak to a supervisor when they kept giving me the runaround 5) Contacted my county supervisor's office (found contact info on county website) who helped expedite things. Total time: 16 days from theft to replacement. Not great but better than some horror stories I've heard. Stay persistent!

did u try the atm inside the bank or the one outside?? sometimes the outside ones dont work with ebt but the ones inside do. also they have limits like u cant take out more then like $500 at once

Quick update: I just checked the official California EBT website, and there's a system-wide notification about some ATMs experiencing technical issues this week. They're working on fixing it. In the meantime, definitely try the cash back option at stores. You can usually get up to $200 cash back at most places with a small purchase.