With your income level, you should also look into: 1. P-EBT if you have school-age children 2. WIC if you have children under 5 or are pregnant 3. Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8) - long waitlist but worth getting on 4. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) for utility bills 5. Reduced school lunch programs 6. Local food banks For a family of 7 earning $5,000/month, these programs can provide significant help even without CalWORKs. Also, make sure you're receiving any Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit you qualify for when filing taxes.

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I just went through something similar. I'm a single mom with 4 kids and was making about $2,800/month when I got cut from CalWORKs last year. What really helped me was requesting a detailed breakdown from my worker showing exactly how they calculated my eligibility. Turns out they weren't counting some of my work expenses properly. Even though you're over the income limit now, I'd still recommend appealing if you feel the calculation was wrong or if your income fluctuates. Sometimes temporary income spikes can be handled differently. Also, if any of your kids have special needs or if you have high childcare costs, there might be additional deductions they can apply. The "benefits cliff" is real - where earning slightly more means losing way more in assistance. It's so frustrating but you're not alone in dealing with this. Hang in there! 💙

You'll get your first SAR7 form about 5 months after your approval. So if you were approved in July, expect it around December. The form is due by the 5th of your reporting month (which would be January in this example). One tip: CalWORKs now offers the option to complete your SAR7 online through the BenefitsCal website, which is much easier than the paper form. You can upload photos of any required documents right from your phone. Glad you were able to reach someone about the Immediate Need payment. If approved, they typically issue those within 3 business days, so that should help bridge the gap until your regular payment date.

I went through this same frustrating experience when I first got approved! The waiting period between getting your card and actually having funds available is one of those things they really should explain better upfront. Since you mentioned your case number ends in 9, you're definitely in the 20th payment group. While you're waiting for a response on the immediate need payment, here are a few other options that might help: Some churches have emergency food pantries that don't require appointments - you could call around and ask. Also, if you have any friends or family on WIC, sometimes they have extra vouchers they can't use before they expire. The system is definitely not designed with families' immediate needs in mind, but hang in there - once you get into the regular payment cycle it becomes more predictable. Just make sure to budget around those specific dates (1st, 10th, or 20th) going forward.

Can someone explain the difference between SAR7 and IRT reporting?? I always get so confused about what I'm supposed to report when. My worker told me something at my last interview but I totally forgot and now I'm scared I might be missing something important. Does the SAR7 have anything to do with the IRT??

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I checked my last notice and found my IRT amount - it is indeed $2,823. My hours are staying steady for now so I'm well under that threshold. I'll just make sure to report everything accurately on my next SAR7 and keep all my paystubs. It's also good to know about that income disregard - makes me feel better about working more hours since not all of it will count against my grant.

Update: Just wanted to let everyone know that my card worked fine in Oregon! I was able to withdraw money from a Bank of America ATM with just the normal ATM fee. And when I called my worker (finally got through yesterday), she confirmed that trips under 30 days don't need to be reported but said it was good that I let them know anyway. Thanks for all the help!

Thanks for sharing that update! Really helpful to know it worked out okay. This thread is going to be super useful for anyone else who has to travel out of state for family emergencies. It's good that you got confirmation from your worker too - having that official word makes all the difference when you're stressed about following the rules correctly.

I want to correct something important: for appeals, you need to request the appeal within 90 days of receiving your Notice of Action. When you submit the appeal form, check the box for "continuing benefits" if you were already receiving aid that they're trying to cut off. In your case, since this is a new application denial, focus on gathering strong evidence of all possible deductions. For a family of 6 in LA county with a disabled spouse, you should also immediately apply for: 1. Medi-Cal (if you haven't already) 2. IHSS for your husband's care needs 3. Housing assistance programs (separate from CalWORKs) 4. LIHEAP for utility bill assistance 5. School meal programs for the children Lastly, request an "expedited determination" on your CalFresh case review, as $25 sounds suspiciously low for a family of 6 even if you're over the CalWORKs limit.

IHSS could be a game-changer for your family! Since your husband has severe RA and needs help with daily activities, he would likely qualify for In-Home Supportive Services. Here's what's great about it: YOU can be his paid caregiver through IHSS, which means you'd get paid (around $17-18/hour in LA County) for providing his care. This income is treated differently for CalWORKs calculations and might actually help your case since it's considered "self-employment" with different deduction rules. To apply for IHSS, call 1-888-944-4477 or visit your local Social Services office. They'll do an assessment of your husband's needs and determine how many hours of care he qualifies for per week. Even if he only qualifies for 10-15 hours weekly, that's still $170-270 extra income that could ironically help you qualify for CalWORKs due to the way they calculate self-employment income. Also, once you're getting IHSS payments, make sure to mention this to your CalWORKs worker during your appeal - they need to recalculate your eligibility based on this new income source and its associated deductions. Many families don't realize IHSS can actually help rather than hurt their other benefit eligibility!