Anna, I hope your interview went well today! I've been thinking about you since reading through this amazing thread yesterday. As a newcomer to this community, I'm blown away by how everyone came together to help you prepare - the level of detail and support here is incredible. I went through my CalWORKs interview about 5 months ago with my 8-week-old, and honestly, all the advice you received here is spot-on. The part about bringing a notepad was genius - I wish I had thought of that! I ended up forgetting my case number and had to call back the next day. Your situation sounds very similar to what mine was - temporary job loss, new baby, but with a clear plan to return to work. The caseworkers really do understand that sometimes families need a bridge during major life transitions, and that's exactly what you're asking for. I'm really hoping you got good news today and that the process was as smooth as everyone said it would be. Even if there are any follow-up steps needed, you clearly have such a strong support system both here online and with your family. Please update us when you feel up to it - I think everyone who contributed to helping you prepare would love to know how it turned out! Sending positive thoughts your way. You're doing an amazing job advocating for your family! 💕

Anna, I hope your interview went well today! I've been following this thread and I'm so impressed by how well this community prepared you. Everyone gave such thorough and helpful advice. I had my CalWORKs interview about 6 months ago in a very similar situation - new baby, partner's job loss, and I was also receiving some disability benefits. The interview process was actually much more straightforward than I expected, especially when you come prepared like you did. One thing I wanted to mention that I didn't see covered much in the other responses - if you were approved today, make sure to ask about the CalWORKs Employment Services program. Since you already have a job to return to, they might be able to help with things like work-related transportation costs or even childcare assistance to help you transition back to work smoothly. Also, if you qualified for benefits, don't forget to ask when your first SAR 7 (Semi-Annual Report) is due. It's easy to forget about this requirement when you're dealing with everything else, but staying on top of it prevents any interruptions in benefits. Really hoping you got good news today and that the worker was understanding about your situation. Your preparation and positive attitude definitely would have come through during the interview. Please update us when you can - we're all rooting for you and your little one! 🍀

Hi Lourdes! I just wanted to share my experience as someone who was in almost the exact same situation last year. My boyfriend lost his warehouse job and was really struggling with depression while I was working part-time at a grocery store with our 2-year-old. Adding him to our CalWORKs case was honestly one of the best decisions we made, even though it felt overwhelming at first. A few things that really helped us: **The financial impact was immediate** - we got an extra $175/month which made such a huge difference for diapers, groceries, and gas. That money literally kept us afloat while he was getting back on his feet. **The WTW requirements weren't as bad as expected** - since you're already working 25 hours, he'll only need about 10 hours of activities. Our worker let him start with just online job search through CalJOBS for the first month while he adjusted to the program. **Mental health support was a game changer** - they connected him with free counseling through the county mental health services, which honestly helped more than any job search activity. Once he started feeling better mentally, everything else fell into place. **Document everything now** - start gathering his ID, Social Security card, and that construction job termination letter. Having everything ready made our interview so much smoother. The program really can be a lifeline when you need it most. You're already showing great responsibility by working and planning ahead. Don't let the paperwork scare you - the extra support is so worth it! Feel free to ask if you have specific questions about the process. You've got this! 💪

Hi Lourdes! I'm a mom who just went through this process about 4 months ago, and I want to give you some encouragement - you're asking all the right questions and you're going to be just fine! A few quick tips that saved me a lot of stress: - Call ahead to confirm your interview appointment the day before - sometimes they have to reschedule and it's better to know in advance - Bring copies of everything, not just originals - they'll want to keep copies for your file - If your boyfriend gets overwhelmed during the interview, it's totally okay to ask for a break or to reschedule part of it One thing I wish I'd known: they have a "Resource Specialist" at most offices who can help connect you to additional community resources like food banks, utility assistance, and childcare help. Definitely ask to speak with one during your visit. The whole process took about 3 weeks from application to first payment for us, and that extra monthly assistance (we got $165 more) has been such a relief. Your retail experience plus his construction background actually puts you both in a good position - workers love to see people with real work history who just need temporary help. You sound like you're being so thoughtful about this decision, and that tells me you're going to handle whatever comes up. Rooting for your family! 🤗

Just checking back - were you able to get cash back at a store or get through to someone at the county? If multiple locations are having the same issue, it's likely an account-specific problem rather than a general system outage.

So glad you were able to get your rent money! The ATM issue is really frustrating but at least the cash back workaround saved the day. You might want to call the EBT customer service line (when you have more time) to report that the ATMs aren't working - sometimes they don't know about these issues unless people report them. Also keep an eye on whether this happens again next month, because if it does it might be worth getting a replacement card just in case there's something wrong with the magnetic strip that only affects ATM transactions.

As a newcomer to this community, I'm absolutely amazed by this incredible success story and the outstanding level of support everyone provided! @Zainab, huge congratulations on your hard-fought victory - your persistence through multiple incorrect denials is truly inspiring and demonstrates what determined advocacy can accomplish. What really strikes me as someone new to navigating these systems is how your experience highlights such serious training gaps among eligibility workers. The fact that you had to escalate three times just to find someone who understood that VA Chapter 35 benefits are educational assistance rather than regular income is deeply concerning - and makes you wonder how many other deserving students are being wrongfully denied without knowing they can fight back. This thread has become an absolutely invaluable resource! From the specific MPP section citations to practical tools like Claimyr, the community's response shows the incredible power of shared knowledge and experience. Your detailed documentation of what actually worked - bringing specific regulations, VA documentation, school schedules, and escalating to knowledgeable supervisors - creates a perfect roadmap for other families facing similar bureaucratic battles. This is exactly why communities like this are so essential for helping people overcome systemic barriers that shouldn't exist in the first place. Thank you for refusing to give up on your daughter's case and for taking the time to share your victory with such detail. This thread will undoubtedly help countless other veterans' families secure the benefits they're rightfully entitled to!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm absolutely inspired by this incredible thread and @Zainab's amazing victory! Your persistence through multiple incorrect denials really shows what determined advocacy can accomplish when navigating these complex benefit systems. What strikes me most as someone new to understanding CalFresh and VA benefits is how this case reveals such concerning training gaps. The fact that multiple eligibility workers didn't understand that Chapter 35 benefits are educational assistance rather than regular income is deeply troubling - it makes you wonder how many other deserving students are going without food assistance simply because they don't know they can push back and escalate. The level of expertise and practical support this community provided is remarkable. From the specific MPP section citations to tools like Claimyr, everyone contributed real, actionable knowledge that directly helped resolve this situation. This thread has become such a comprehensive resource showing not just the problems students face, but the exact step-by-step solutions that actually work. Your detailed follow-up about what succeeded - bringing documentation, citing specific regulations, escalating to knowledgeable supervisors - creates an invaluable roadmap for other families facing similar battles. It's exactly why communities like this are so crucial for helping people overcome bureaucratic barriers that shouldn't exist in the first place. Thank you for not giving up on your daughter and for sharing your journey with such detail. This thread will undoubtedly help countless other veterans' families get the benefits they're entitled to!

I'm new to this community and just started my CalWORKs application last week! This thread has been incredibly helpful - I was getting so much conflicting information from friends and family about how payments work. Reading through everyone's experiences really cleared things up for me. It sounds like the confusion about "split payments" is super common because people mix up CalWORKs cash aid (which comes all at once) with CalFresh food benefits (which get split if over $200). I'm still waiting to hear back about my application status, but now I know what to expect when I do get approved. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so reassuring to find a community where people actually understand these programs and are willing to help newcomers navigate everything! Also definitely going to ask about that diaper benefit when I meet with my worker since I have an 18-month-old. Had no idea that was even a thing!

I'm also new to this community and just got approved for CalWORKs about two weeks ago! This thread has been so helpful because I had the exact same question when I first got approved. My caseworker explained it really clearly during my appointment - CalWORKs Cash Aid always comes as one payment per month, usually within the first few days based on your case number. The confusion about "split payments" that so many people have (including me at first!) comes from CalFresh benefits getting split into two payments when they're over $200. I just got my first CalWORKs payment last week and it came all at once on the 1st, just like everyone here is saying. It's such a relief to have that certainty for budgeting purposes, especially as a single parent trying to make sure rent and bills are covered. Thanks to everyone who's been sharing their experiences - it really helps us newcomers understand what to expect! This community seems like such a great resource for navigating all these different programs.