Adding newborn to CalWORKs & CalFresh - when will additional benefits start?

Congrats on your baby! When I added my son last year, I got the increased CalFresh (food stamps) amount on my next regular issuance date. For the Cash Aid increase, it took about 10 days for them to process and they issued a supplement for the partial month since the baby's birth. The Cash Aid will include the newborn diaper benefit too, which is $30 extra per month until your baby turns 3. They should also be sending you a Notice of Action in the mail showing the new benefit amounts and when they'll start. If you need the money urgently for rent, call your worker back and explain the situation - sometimes they can expedite the supplement if you have an urgent need.

i added my daughter last summer and it took them FOREVER to change my benefits. like almost a month!! i kept calling but couldnt get thru to nobody. finally i went to the office in person and found out my worker was on vacation and nobody was coverning her cases!!! make sure u keep calling every day and also check if theres a message center in your benefitscal account to send them a message too

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a real person? When I had to add my twins last year I was facing the same problem - couldn't get past the automated system. I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that waits on hold for you and calls you back when they get a real person. Saved me hours of hold time. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. After I finally got through to my worker, I got the increased benefits within a week.

Yeah it really does work! Basically it calls the county office for you and then calls your phone when it reaches a person. So instead of you sitting on hold for hours, you just get a call when there's actually someone to talk to. It saved me so much stress when I was dealing with my benefits issues.

Make sure they also signed you up for WIC if you haven't already applied! It's separate from CalWORKs but gives you extra food benefits specifically for your baby (formula if you're using it) and for you if you're breastfeeding. They also provide nutrition counseling and can help with breastfeeding support. Most CalWORKs offices can refer you directly, and it doesn't count against your other benefits at all.

The county is REQUIRED to issue benefits within 10 days of receiving verification of the new household member. That's according to regulations. But of course they constantly break their own rules. When I added my nephew to my case after getting temp guardianship, they took 3 weeks and I had to file for a state hearing before they finally processed it. Then they tried to say they never received my documents even though I submitted them in person and had a receipt!!! Always keep proof of everything you submit!!

one thing to kno is the cash aid for the baby is prorated from his birth date not from when u reported it. so u should get backpay from when he was born even if it takes them time to process. but the calfresh wont be backpaid it only starts when they actually add him. thas how it worked for me anyways last year. also fyi the diaper money comes with ur regular cash aid payment they dont separate it out they just add the $30 into the total.

my worker told me im supposed to be calling them when u have any change not just doing it online thats what made mine take so long i only did it on benefitscal and didnt call. maybe thats why its taking long for u?? idk they all tell u different things i swear

did they say anything about getting childcare assistance too? when u add a baby u can qualify for more childcare hours since u have 2 kids now. especially if ur doing WTW (welfare to work) activities. my friend gets help for both her kids and it covers full time daycare

Congratulations on your new baby! I went through this exact same process about 6 months ago when I had my son. From my experience, the CalFresh increase usually shows up pretty quickly - within 1-2 weeks on your regular issuance date. The Cash Aid took a bit longer for me, about 2 weeks, but like others mentioned you should get backpay from the baby's birth date. One thing that really helped me was keeping detailed records of everything - screenshots of when I submitted documents online, confirmation numbers, dates of phone calls, etc. When there were delays, having that documentation made it much easier to escalate. Also, if you're really struggling with rent being due next week, you might want to ask about emergency assistance programs. Some counties have emergency rental assistance that can help while you're waiting for the benefit increase to process. Your worker should be able to tell you what's available in your area. Hang in there - I know it's stressful waiting for the extra help when you need it most!

Hey Freya, congratulations on your new baby! I just wanted to add that when I added my daughter to my case about 8 months ago, I had a similar experience with the timing. The CalFresh increase showed up on my EBT card within about 10 days, but the cash aid took almost 3 weeks because there was some kind of processing delay on their end. One thing I learned is that you can actually check the status of your case changes by logging into BenefitsCal and looking at your "case actions" or "pending changes" section. It will show if they're still processing the addition or if it's been approved. That way you don't have to keep calling and waiting on hold just to get a status update. Also, since you mentioned rent is due next week, definitely ask your worker about any emergency assistance programs. In my county they had a one-time rental assistance program that could help bridge the gap while waiting for benefit increases. Every county is different but it's worth asking about. Good luck and I hope everything processes quickly for you!

Congratulations on your new baby! I went through this exact same situation about 4 months ago when my youngest was born. Here's what I learned from my experience: The CalFresh increase happened pretty quickly - it showed up on my next regular benefit date, which was about a week after I reported the change. But the cash aid took longer, almost 2 weeks, though like others mentioned you do get backpay from the baby's birth date which was really helpful. One tip that saved me a lot of stress - if you log into your BenefitsCal account, there's a section where you can see the status of pending changes. It will show if they're still processing the baby's addition or if it's been completed. That way you don't have to spend hours trying to get through on the phone just for a status update. Since you mentioned rent is due soon, definitely ask your worker about emergency assistance when you call back. Some counties have one-time emergency rental help that can bridge the gap while you're waiting for your increased benefits to kick in. Also, the $30 diaper allowance is automatically included in your cash aid - they don't send it separately, it just gets added to your total monthly amount. Keep all your documentation and confirmation numbers from when you submitted everything online. If there are any delays or issues, having that proof makes everything easier to resolve. Hang in there - I know the waiting is stressful when you're already stretched thin financially!

Congratulations on your new baby! I'm actually going through something similar right now - I had my second child about 6 weeks ago and just got all his paperwork sorted out last week. I submitted everything through BenefitsCal too and have been anxiously waiting to hear back. Reading through all these responses is so helpful! I had no idea about the pending changes section in BenefitsCal - I'm definitely going to check that out. And the tip about Claimyr sounds like a game changer since I've been having the same problem getting through to anyone on the phone. One thing my friend mentioned is that sometimes the system glitches and doesn't properly link the uploaded documents to your case, so it might be worth calling just to confirm they actually received everything even though your worker called you. She had to re-upload her baby's birth certificate twice because of some technical issue. Also, if you're breastfeeding, make sure you ask about the nursing mother food package increase for WIC when you update them with the new baby info. It's not automatic and you have to specifically request it, but it gives you extra food benefits while you're nursing. Hope everything processes quickly for you! The financial stress while waiting for benefits to adjust is so real, especially with a newborn.

Congratulations on your new baby! I just went through this same process about 2 months ago when I had my daughter. Here's what happened in my case: The CalFresh increase showed up on my EBT card pretty quickly - within about 8 days on my regular issuance date. The cash aid took a bit longer, around 12 days, but I did get the backpay from her birth date like others mentioned, which was such a relief. One thing that really helped me was setting up text notifications in my BenefitsCal account so I'd get alerts about any case updates. That way I knew right away when things were processed instead of constantly checking online or trying to call. Since your rent is due next week and you're in a tight spot, definitely mention that urgency when you call your worker back. Some counties have emergency assistance funds that can help bridge the gap. Also, if you have trouble getting through on the phone, try calling right when they open at 8am - I found that's when I had the best luck reaching someone quickly. The $30 diaper allowance will just be added to your regular cash aid amount, not sent separately. And don't forget to report the baby to WIC too if you haven't already - they have great support for new moms and babies. Hang in there! I know the waiting is stressful when money's already tight, but it should come through soon.

Congratulations on your new baby! I just went through this same process about 3 months ago when I had my son. Here's what I experienced: The CalFresh increase came through pretty quickly - it showed up on my next regular benefit date, which was about 10 days after I reported the change online. The cash aid took a bit longer though, almost 2 weeks, but like others have mentioned you do get backpay from the baby's birth date which really helps. One thing I wish someone had told me is to take screenshots of everything when you submit documents online, including any confirmation numbers or reference codes. I had an issue where they claimed they never received my son's social security card even though I uploaded it, and having those screenshots saved me a lot of hassle. Since you mentioned your rent is due next week, definitely stress that urgency when you call your worker back. Some counties have emergency assistance programs that can help bridge the gap while you're waiting for benefit increases to process. It's worth asking about even if they don't mention it. Also, the diaper allowance ($30/month) gets automatically added to your cash aid payment - they don't send it separately. And if you haven't already, make sure to update WIC with your new baby's info too since that's separate from CalWORKs. The waiting is definitely stressful when you're already stretched thin, but hang in there! Most people seem to get their increases within 1-2 weeks.

Congratulations on your new baby! I went through this exact same situation about 5 months ago when my daughter was born. Here's what I experienced: The CalFresh increase happened relatively quickly - it showed up on my EBT card within about a week on my regular issuance date. The cash aid took longer, about 2-3 weeks, but you will get backpay from your baby's birth date which was a huge help when it finally came through. One thing that really saved me stress was discovering you can check the status of pending changes in your BenefitsCal account under the "Case Actions" section. It shows whether they're still processing the baby's addition or if it's been completed, so you don't have to keep calling for updates. Since your rent is due next week, definitely mention that urgent need when you call your worker back. Ask specifically about emergency rental assistance programs - many counties have one-time emergency funds that can help bridge the gap while you're waiting for your increased benefits to process. Also, make sure to keep detailed records of everything - screenshots of when you submitted documents, confirmation numbers, dates of calls, etc. If there are any delays or issues, having that documentation makes resolving problems much easier. The $30 diaper allowance will be automatically added to your regular cash aid amount, not sent separately. And don't forget to update WIC with your new baby's information too since that's processed separately from CalWORKs. Hang in there - I know the waiting is incredibly stressful when you're already financially stretched, but it should come through within the next week or two!

Congratulations on your new baby! I just went through this same process about 6 weeks ago when my son was born. Here's what happened with my case: The CalFresh increase showed up on my EBT card pretty quickly - within about 8 days on my regular issuance date. The cash aid took a bit longer, around 2 weeks, but like everyone mentioned you do get backpay from the baby's birth date which was such a relief when it finally came through. One thing that really helped me was calling right at 8am when the offices open - I found that's when I had the best chance of getting through to a real person without waiting on hold for hours. Also, if you log into BenefitsCal and check under "Case Actions" or "Pending Changes," you can actually see the status of your baby's addition to your case without having to call constantly for updates. Since you mentioned rent is due next week, definitely stress that urgency when you talk to your worker. Ask specifically about emergency assistance programs - my county had a one-time emergency rental help program that could bridge the gap while waiting for benefit increases. Every county is different but it's worth asking about. The $30 diaper allowance gets automatically added to your regular cash aid payment, not sent separately. And make sure to update WIC too if you haven't already - they process separately from CalWORKs. Keep screenshots of everything you've submitted and any confirmation numbers. If there are delays, having that documentation makes resolving issues much easier. Hang in there - the waiting is so stressful with a newborn and tight finances, but it should process within the next week or two!