CalWORKs SAR7 confusion - can benefits decrease even though I'm under the IRT working IHSS?

Unfortunately, your worker is correct. The IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) is just the amount that requires immediate reporting between your regular SAR7 reports. If your income is under the IRT, you still have to report it on your SAR7, and they will adjust your benefits based on that income. The IRT doesn't mean your benefits stay the same - it just means you don't have to report income changes until your regular SAR7 is due (as long as you stay under that threshold). CalWORKs Cash Aid is reduced as your income increases. Typically, after disregards, they reduce your grant by about $1 for every $2 you earn. So your $1,820 income would reduce your grant by quite a bit even though it's under your IRT.

The same thing happened to me when I got a part-time job at Walmart!!! I was SO MAD because I was way under my IRT too!! I filed for a hearing and I LOST because turns out the IRT is just about WHEN you have to report income, not WHETHER your benefits change. It's super confusing and nobody explains it right!! 😡😡😡

theres different rules for calfresh vs calworks. maybe ur thinking of the calfresh rules? my ebt food stamps dont change mid-period even if i report income on sar7 as long as under irt but cash aid always gets reduced with any income pretty much

You should definitely request a state hearing if you're not satisfied with the explanation. You have 90 days from the date on your Notice of Action to request it. Even if the worker is correct, the hearing officer will explain everything clearly and you'll at least understand why this happened. Call the number on your NOA to request one. It can be really hard getting through to ask questions through the regular county lines though. I was having similar issues getting explanations about my SAR7 processing and was getting disconnected constantly. I finally used Claimyr.com to get through to a real person - they have this service where they call the county for you and connect you when a worker answers. They even have a video demo at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE that shows how it works. Honestly it saved me hours of frustration.

To clarify about the IRT (Income Reporting Threshold) since there seems to be confusion: 1. For CalWORKs Cash Aid: The IRT is ONLY about when you must report income changes outside your regular SAR7 reporting period. If your income is below the IRT, you wait until your next SAR7 to report it. If it's above, you must report it within 10 days. BUT either way, once you report income on your SAR7, they will adjust your Cash Aid based on that income, even if it's below your IRT. 2. For CalFresh (food stamps): The rules are different. If you report income under the IRT on your SAR7, they generally won't reduce your benefits until recertification (with some exceptions). The system is designed this way because Cash Aid is meant to supplement income, not replace it. As your income increases, your need for Cash Aid decreases. Unfortunately, this creates a challenging transition period where you're working more but may not feel financially better off initially.

my worker told me that IHSS income is treated differently sometimes. did they take the full amount or did they exempt some? I think theres some special income exemptions for caregivers but I dunno if that applies for calworks or just medi-cal. might wanna ask specifically about IHSS income rules

While a hearing probably won't change the outcome, it could be helpful for fully understanding your benefits. If you do request one, come prepared with specific questions about how your income was calculated and what disregards were applied. You should know that CalWORKs does have income disregards that might help: 1. The first $450 of your disability-based income is disregarded (IHSS might qualify) 2. There's also a standard $450 earnings disregard for regular income 3. After that, 50% of your remaining earned income is disregarded So if you're earning $1,820 monthly, they should be calculating roughly: $1,820 - $450 = $1,370 50% of $1,370 = $685 Only about $685 should be counting against your cash grant. If they counted more than that, definitely ask for clarification or request a hearing.

Thank you everyone for explaining. I think I understand now - the IRT is just about WHEN I have to report, not about whether my benefits change. And CalFresh and CalWORKs have different rules about mid-period adjustments. I'm going to check my NOA carefully to see how they calculated everything and make sure they applied those income disregards correctly. I'll probably still request a hearing just to make sure everything was calculated right. It's just really hard going from no income to some income but then losing benefits at the same time. Makes it feel like I'm not getting ahead.

ALSO!!!! Make sure to check if they gave you the correct earned income disregards!!! When this happened to me they messed up the calculation and weren't giving me the right disregards!!! I had to fight for months to get it fixed and get backpay!!!!

I'm going through something similar right now! Just started working part-time and was shocked when my cash aid got reduced even though I was under my IRT. Reading all these responses really helped me understand the difference between CalFresh and CalWORKs rules - I had no idea they were different! One thing that might help you @Emily Parker - when you call to request that hearing, ask them to walk you through the exact calculation they used step by step. Sometimes workers make mistakes with the income disregards and it's worth double-checking. I've heard of people getting backpay when errors were found. Also, I know it feels discouraging when you're working but not feeling like you're getting ahead financially. But remember that work history and experience with IHSS could lead to more hours or better opportunities later. You're building toward something even if it doesn't feel like it right now. Hang in there!

I'm new to CalWORKs and this is really eye-opening! I had no idea the IRT rules were different between CalFresh and Cash Aid - my eligibility worker never explained that clearly during my intake appointment. I just assumed if I stayed under the IRT threshold, all my benefits would stay stable until recertification. Reading through everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the key is really understanding how they calculate the income disregards for Cash Aid. @Emily Parker I hope when you request that hearing, you get a clear breakdown of exactly how they processed your IHSS income. It might also be worth asking if there are any special exemptions for caregiving income that weren't applied. One question for the group - when you're working IHSS and your CalWORKs gets reduced, do you still keep your Medi-Cal coverage? I'm considering taking on some caregiving work for my neighbor but I'm worried about losing healthcare benefits on top of the cash aid reduction.

This is such an important thread for everyone to read! I went through this exact same confusion when I first started working while on CalWORKs. The IRT concept is honestly one of the most misunderstood parts of the whole system. What helped me was thinking of it this way: the IRT is like a "reporting schedule" threshold, not a "benefit protection" threshold. If you earn under your IRT, you get to wait until your regular SAR7 to report it instead of calling within 10 days. But once you DO report it (whether immediately or on your SAR7), they're going to adjust your benefits regardless. @Emily Parker - definitely get that step-by-step calculation breakdown when you request your hearing. I caught an error in mine where they forgot to apply the $450 earnings disregard and I got several months of backpay. Even if the reduction ends up being correct, at least you'll have peace of mind knowing exactly how they calculated it. One more tip - keep detailed records of your IHSS hours and payments. Sometimes there are delays in reporting between IHSS and the county, which can cause calculation errors on your CalWORKs case. Having your own documentation helps when these issues come up.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this frustrating situation! As someone who recently went through a similar experience, I completely understand your confusion about the IRT rules. The explanation everyone gave about IRT being a "reporting schedule threshold" rather than a "benefit protection threshold" is spot on. I made the same assumption you did initially - that staying under the IRT meant my benefits would remain stable. It's really misleading how this gets communicated (or not communicated) during the application process. Since you're working IHSS, make sure when you request that hearing that you specifically ask about any special income disregards or exemptions that might apply to caregiving income. I've heard there can be additional protections for IHSS providers that don't always get applied correctly. Also, don't feel discouraged about working even though your cash aid decreased. You're gaining valuable work experience in healthcare/caregiving, which could lead to better opportunities down the road. Plus, you should still have your Medi-Cal coverage, and you might qualify for other working family benefits like childcare assistance or transportation help that weren't available when you weren't working. Hang in there - the transition period is always the hardest part, but you're taking the right steps by asking questions and advocating for yourself!