Just so u no they will only replace stolen benefits ONCE per year now. They changed the rules in January. So if this happens again in the next 12 months ur out of luck...

UPDATE: I got a call back from my county office! They're expediting my claim because I have an immediate need (rent due) and they're issuing emergency benefits that should be available by tomorrow. I have to go to the office first thing in the morning to sign the GEN 1000 form and bring any evidence I have. They also suggested filing a police report which I'm going to do online tonight. Thank you everyone for your help! I'll update again once everything is resolved for anyone who might have this problem in the future.

One more thing - since your application was submitted in 2024, your eligibility and benefit amounts will be calculated using the new 2025 payment standards, which are slightly higher than last year. For a family of 3 (you plus twins) in most counties, the maximum monthly grant should be around $1,052. Since you applied on November 28th, if approved, you should receive prorated benefits for the days remaining in November (3 days), plus December and January in full, assuming February is when your regular monthly payments begin. Make sure all of this is accounted for in your retroactive payment.Lastly, don't forget to apply for CalFresh (food stamps) if you haven't already, plus WIC which is especially helpful for families with infants.

Thank you for all this detailed information! I really appreciate knowing the exact amount I should expect. I did apply for CalFresh and WIC at the same time. CalFresh was approved pretty quickly but still waiting on the WIC appointment. It's just the CalWORKs that seems to be taking forever.

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!

What probably happened was that your friend's child turned 3, so they lost the diaper money for that child. My sister just went through this - she has 3 kids and when her middle one turned 3 in April, the benefit dropped by $115 starting in May. But she still gets it for her youngest who's 1. Sometimes the notices about these changes are really confusing too - they just say something like "your cash aid amount has changed" without clearly explaining it's because of the diaper benefit age limit.

my cousin whos a eligibility worker says theres BIG changes coming to calworks but not till next year. something about making the welfare to work hours different and maybe changing the 48 month time limit. but nothing about ending the extra benefits right now

SSI is such a pain with reviews!!! my brother has been on SSI for 10 years and sometimes they do short forms by mail and sometimes they make him go in person. last time they made him see their doctor too even tho nothing changed with his condition. total waste of time!!! and then i got so confused cuz i thought his CalWORKs would be affected too but thats county and SSI is federal so theyre different systems. the whole thing is way too complicated!!!!

Just to clarify something important about CalWORKs and SSI that might help others reading this thread: If you receive SSI, you're excluded from the CalWORKs assistance unit, but your children can still receive CalWORKs benefits if they qualify. This is what's happening in the original poster's situation. The confusing part is that while you report your SSI income to CalWORKs, it's not counted against your children's eligibility the same way earned income would be. It's subjected to different income calculation rules. Also, legitimate SSI reviews follow a predictable pattern. Medical CDRs can be scheduled anywhere from every 18 months to every 7 years depending on your condition, while SSI redeterminations (financial reviews) typically happen every 1-3 years. But they ALWAYS send written notification first.