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If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
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just wanna say im sorry this happened to u. when my benefits got stolen last yr i had to feed my kids ramen for a week before they replaced the money. the system totally sucks and they treat us like were liars. hope u get ur money back quick
Thank you ❤️ I'm so worried about feeding my kids too. Gonna try to borrow some money from my sister to get through until this gets fixed.
ALSO make sure your mailing address is up to date with the county!! A lot of benefit theft happens because people are stealing cards right out of mailboxes when they get sent out. If you've moved or aren't getting mail reliably, you can have your EBT card held at the county office for pickup instead of mailed.
My address is up to date but I live in an apartment complex with those group mailboxes so maybe someone got into those? I'll definitely ask about pickup options.
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When my exemption ended, I just filled out a WTW2 form showing my work hours and brought in my pay stubs. I was already working 32 hours so didn't need anything else. But my friend who worked 22 hours had to do job search workshops for the rest. The most important thing is DON'T MISS ORIENTATION even if you're working! They can sanction you for that. Also make sure you're reporting your income correctly on your SAR7 forms. Sometimes people think having a job means they can't get CalWORKs anymore but that's not true - they just adjust your grant amount based on earnings.
yep and dont forget to ask about the earned income disregard!! they dont count the first $450 of income plus 50% of the rest when calculating ur cash aid
No one answrd the part about keeping ur kid with u. I was in same boat. You can ask for "reasonable accommodations" for your WTW plan based on your childcare needs. Put it in WRITING to your worker. They can be flexible with the type of activities but not really with the total hours. Be super clear that u need activities u can do while watching ur kid or from home because of childcare issues. They have online options for some of the extra hours. Worst case u could do like 1 day of activities without ur kid if u have someone who can watch them just for that day each week. Good luck!
Thank you for addressing that part specifically! Having my son with me is the most important thing. I'll definitely put my request in writing. Did they give you any problems when you asked for accommodations?
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Im in the same boat, that $95 is my utilitys every month. im so scared about what happens. does anyone know if we can appeal this or something?? its not fair they just stop it when everythings so expensive now!!
Unfortunately, this isn't something you can appeal. The emergency allotments were always temporary and tied to the public health emergency. I know it's really tough timing with inflation. If you haven't had a mid-year adjustment to your regular CalWORKs grant based on income changes, you might want to report any decreased income or increased expenses (like rent) to see if your regular benefit amount could increase.
One thing to know - you should see an increase in your regular CalWORKs grant starting January 2025 due to the annual cost of living adjustment. It's not going to make up for the whole $95, but it should help a little bit. My worker told me the standard 2025 COLA should be around 3.7% which isn't huge but it's something at least.
That's good to know about the COLA increase. Every little bit helps I guess. I'm still going to have to figure out how to make up that $95 gap in my budget though.
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Just to clarify something important - CalWORKs and CalFresh (food stamps) have different processing timeframes. CalFresh has to be processed within 30 days, but can be expedited in 3 days if you qualify. CalWORKs technically has a 45-day processing timeframe, though many counties try to do it in 30. Make sure your cousin applied for both programs! And yes, benefit start date is the application date, not the interview date, as long as she meets all the eligibility requirements on that date.
Oh! I didn't realize they had different timeframes. She did apply for both, thankfully. The CalFresh would help a lot with food so they can put more money toward rent.
december and january are ALWAYS backed up with appointments. the holidays mess everything up. plus lots of workers take vacation time so there's even fewer people answering phones. ur cousin should definitely try calling but also prepare for the possibility that jan 2 might be the earliest they can do
This is very true. End of December/beginning of January is probably the worst time of year to apply for benefits because of the reduced staffing and holiday office closures. OP, make sure your cousin doesn't miss that Jan 2 appointment even if she can't get an earlier one - they might make her start the whole application process over if she misses it.
Lucas Kowalski
If you get desperate and the bank is closed, some check cashing places can do cash withdrawals from EBT cards. But WARNING - they charge really high fees, like $5-$10 per transaction. I had to do this once when my rent was due on a holiday weekend. It's not ideal but it's an option if you're truly stuck.
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Jibriel Kohn
•I ended up going to the BofA branch like someone suggested and was able to withdraw the rest! The teller was actually really nice about it. But good to know about check cashing places as a last resort - thank you!
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
Great to hear you got it resolved! One more tip - you can actually call the number on the back of your EBT card and request a higher daily ATM withdrawal limit. It's not guaranteed they'll approve it, but if you explain your situation (needing to withdraw rent money once a month), they might increase your limit. Worth trying for next month!
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Jibriel Kohn
•I had no idea this was even possible! Definitely going to call and ask about this. Would make things so much easier every month. Thank you for all your help!
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