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Based on your responses, this sounds like it might be a supportive service payment related to your Welfare to Work participation. San Bernardino County often provides transportation allowances, ancillary payments (for things like books, supplies, or uniforms), and sometimes retroactive childcare stipends to WTW participants. These are separate from your regular Cash Aid amount. However, the only way to know for sure is to contact your worker. When you call, specifically ask if it's: 1. A WTW supportive service payment 2. The diaper benefit for your 2-year-old ($30/month per eligible child) 3. A retroactive adjustment Also request that they document in your case notes that you called to inquire about the payment. This protects you in case they later claim it was an overpayment.
THIS!!! Always get them to note in your file that YOU contacted THEM about it. I learned this the hard way. They tried to claim I knew about an overpayment and didn't report it, which can be considered fraud. I had no way to prove I had called about it.
UPDATE: Finally got through to my worker! It WAS the transportation allowance for my WTW activities plus they owed me a diaper stipend for my 2-year-old that hadn't been processed correctly. She said I should have gotten a notice about it but it must have gotten lost in the mail. She's sending me a new one. Thanks everyone for the help!!
That's great! Gonna call about mine tomorrow. Glad it was something you were actually entitled to and not a mistake!
omg typical they blame the mail instead of admitting they forgot to send the notice lol. glad it worked out tho!
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this happnd to me but opposite...they said i was gettin benefits but my card had NOTHING on it for the month! took 2wks to fix it. the system is so messd up sometimes. good luck!!
Same!!!!! My worker keeps saying "it's in the computer" but nothing ever shows up on time!
Update: I finally got through to someone at the county office! They confirmed it was an error in their system and that I wasn't supposed to receive the February payment. The worker told me to just hold onto the money and not spend it because they'll be sending me an overpayment notice. She said because I reported it before spending it and it was their error, I might qualify for a waiver, but I'll need to apply for that once I get the notice. Thanks everyone for your help!
That's great you got through! Definitely apply for that waiver. Since you reported it immediately and didn't spend the money, you have a strong case for the county to waive the overpayment, especially since it was their administrative error. Make sure to submit the waiver request within the timeframe specified on the overpayment notice when you get it.
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did u report it to the police too? my cousin didnt get her money back until she filed a police report
Filing a police report isn't required for EBT theft claims with CalWORKs, but it can sometimes help speed up the process or add credibility to your claim if it's being questioned. The county's fraud investigation unit works separately from local police though.
check you're benefits account online maybe they already added the money back but didn't tell you? happened to my sister last year
Just checked BenefitsCal again and nothing's been added back yet. Still showing a $0 balance which is making me panic. I appreciate everyone's suggestions though - at least now I have some numbers to call tomorrow.
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Great news! Make sure to follow up if the benefits aren't restored within the 48 hours they promised. And for future reference, when uploading documents to BenefitsCal, it's sometimes better to use the mobile app to take photos rather than scanning - their system seems to process photos better than scanned documents in many cases.
Caesar Grant
Just a heads up, since ur SAR7 was for Nov-April benefit period, don't 4get that December is also when they add the special needs winter clothing allowance for families with kids in colder counties! So ur Dec payment might be even more than what the worker told you if u have children on ur case and live in one of those counties. I always forget about this until it shows up!
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Demi Hall
•what counties get that??? i never heard of winter clothing money and im in sacramento with 2 kids!
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Lena Schultz
•The winter clothing allowance is only for specific mountain and northern counties with colder weather. Sacramento unfortunately doesn't qualify. It's mainly for places like Alpine, Lassen, Modoc, Sierra, Siskiyou and a few others. The allowance is $30 per eligible child and gets added to the December payment automatically if you live in a qualifying county.
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Mateusius Townsend
Did you also report the income change on your CalFresh (food stamps)? Just making sure because sometimes people forget that CalWORKs and CalFresh are separate even though they're on the same EBT card. Your CalFresh should also increase with the lower income, but that might be on a different schedule than your cash aid.
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Rosie Harper
•Yes! The worker said my CalFresh is going up by $190 too. I was mainly focused on the cash aid for rent, but the extra food money will definitely help. I'm guessing that increase will also start in December?
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Elliott luviBorBatman
•That's correct - both your CalWORKs and CalFresh increases will start with your December benefits. CalFresh follows the same reporting schedule as CalWORKs when you receive both programs. The good news is you'll get both increases at once!
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