I moved from California to Nevada about 18 months ago while on CalWORKs and can share some specific insights about the Nevada system since you're getting great general advice here. **Nevada's time limits:** Yes, Nevada DOES count your California CalWORKs time toward their 24-month lifetime limit. So if you've used 8 months in CA, you'd have 16 months remaining in Nevada. This is because of federal data sharing between states for TANF programs. **Application timing:** I'd strongly recommend applying online at dwss.nv.gov ASAP, even before you move. You can list your Nevada address and expected move date. When I applied, it took about 3 weeks to get approved, but they backdated my benefits to my application date. **County differences:** If you're moving to Clark County (Las Vegas area), their main office is pretty busy but they do have satellite locations. Washoe County (Reno area) tends to process faster in my experience. **Emergency assistance:** Nevada does have a "Temporary Emergency Assistance" program that can help with moving costs or temporary housing - it's separate from regular TANF and worth asking about when you apply. **Medical continuity:** For your daughter's appointments, Nevada Medicaid can do emergency coverage while your regular application processes, but you need to specifically request it and show it's urgent. The benefit reduction is tough but the cost of living in Nevada is generally lower than California, which helps offset some of the difference. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions about the Nevada system!

I just wanted to add one more resource that might be helpful - Nevada 211 (dial 2-1-1 from any phone or visit nevada211.org). They have a comprehensive database of local assistance programs, emergency services, and support resources specifically for Clark County. When I moved to a new state, 211 was invaluable for finding everything from emergency food assistance to utility help programs. Also, since you mentioned your worker never answers the phone - once you get to Nevada, their DWSS offices generally have better phone response times than some California counties (at least that was my experience). But definitely keep trying to reach your CA worker before you move to get that official move notification submitted. You're handling this incredibly difficult situation with such grace and planning ahead so well. Moving states while managing benefits AND dealing with a family medical emergency is no small feat. Your mom is lucky to have you looking out for her! 💙

I want to add one more thing - make sure you're not confusing CalWORKs and CalFresh rules. They're similar but not identical. For CalFresh (food stamps), tax refunds don't count as income OR resources for 12 months after receipt. But for CalWORKs, they only don't count as income - they DO count as resources after a month. It's easy to get the programs mixed up since many of us have both.

Just wanted to share my experience from this year - I got a $4,100 refund (mostly EITC) and was panicking about the same thing! Called my worker and she confirmed what everyone here is saying - tax refunds don't count as income for CalWORKs so no need to report on SAR7 and won't affect your cash aid amount. BUT she also warned me about the resource limit thing. I made sure to spend it all within 30 days on necessities - paid rent ahead, bought groceries in bulk, got my kids school supplies and clothes, and fixed some things around the apartment. Kept all my receipts just in case. The key is understanding the difference between "income" (which affects your monthly benefit amount) and "resources" (which is just about how much you can have saved up). Tax refunds don't count as the first but do count as the second after a month. Hope this helps ease your worry!

Just a friendly reminder to anyone reading - if you haven't done so already, sign up for text or email alerts about your EBT card balance/deposits through the EBT website or app! That way you don't have to keep checking manually. It's saved me so many times when there were unexpected deposit date changes.

Another tip that might help - if you have a smartphone, you can download the ebtEDGE mobile app to check your balance and transaction history instantly. It's way faster than calling the customer service number or going to an ATM. Plus you can set up push notifications for deposits so you'll know the exact moment your CalWORKs payment hits your account. Really helpful for planning around rent due dates like yours!

UPDATE: I finally reached a supervisor today! She reviewed my case and admitted TWO errors: 1. They DID wrongly count my Work Study income (showed her my award letter and she immediately recognized the mistake) 2. Since it was their error with "losing" my SAR7 (which was submitted on time), I qualify for restored benefits for the missing half of the month! They're fixing both issues and I should get the correct benefits in 3-5 business days. She also gave me her direct line in case there are any more problems. THANK YOU everyone for your advice and support - especially about knowing the specific regulations! It made a huge difference when I could quote the exact policies. Will update when the money actually comes through.

YES!! This is exactly how it should work when you know your rights and can back them up with actual policy! So happy you got both issues resolved. Your story is going to help so many other people who face the same problems - saving this thread for future reference. It's crazy how many workers don't know the Work Study exemption rule, but having that award letter as proof makes all the difference. Hope your payment comes through quickly and you can get caught up on rent! 🙌

After you get this fixed (and you will!), make sure you take screenshots of EVERYTHING you submit through BenefitsCal and keep all confirmation emails. I've learned to document absolutely everything because of situations exactly like yours. Also, did you already get your discontinuance notice in the mail or just saw it online? Sometimes the system shows discontinued before they even send the notice explaining why.

I'm so sorry you're going through this - the stress of losing benefits when you did everything right is awful. Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like you have a really good chance of getting this reversed since you have all your confirmation emails as proof. One thing I'd add - when you do get through to someone (whether by phone, office visit, or through that Claimyr service), ask them to put a note in your case file about the system error and request a copy of that note for your records. Sometimes these "glitches" happen repeatedly if there's something wrong with how your case is coded in their system. Also, if you're in a county that has CalWORKs advocates or legal aid, they might be able to help expedite this. Many of them have direct lines to supervisors that can bypass the broken phone system. You shouldn't have to stress about rent when you followed all the rules!