CalWORKs cash aid amount for family of 4 in 2025? Payment seems too low

The amount depends on a few important factors - whether you're in Region 1 or Region 2 counties, if anyone in the household has earned income, and if anyone is exempt from participating in Welfare to Work activities. For a family of 4 with no income in Region 1 (LA County is Region 1), the current maximum is around $1,255 for 2025. If you're getting $1,127, they might be counting some income or resources you didn't mention, or someone in your household might not be eligible for some reason. You should definitely call your worker and ask for a breakdown of how they calculated your grant amount. They're required to explain exactly how they determined your benefit amount.

they prolly calculating sum wrong, my family is 4 ppl too and we get $1,255 and we in sacramento. call ur worker and ask why its lower, sometimes they mess up tbh. also make sure u applied for calfresh too cuz that helps ALOT with food

I was in the exact same situation last year. The amount you're getting ($1,127) might be correct if one of you isn't being included in the assistance unit for some reason. Common reasons include: 1. Immigration status issues (if someone doesn't qualify) 2. Someone has already used their 48-month time limit 3. Child support issues (not cooperating with child support requirements) 4. Someone has a felony drug conviction or is fleeing a felony warrant Ask specifically for your "assistance unit size" - if they're counting you as a family of 3 instead of 4, that would explain the lower amount. The MAP for a family of 3 in Region 1 for 2025 is $1,129, which is very close to what you're getting.

if your husband just lost his job did he apply for unemployment? that counts as income and they'll reduce your cash aid amount. happened to me when i got laid off

I had such a hard time reaching my worker about a similar issue last month. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real person after trying for DAYS on my own. Their service connects you with a CalWORKs worker in minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE Anyway, it turned out they had calculated my aid based on my husband's previous income even though he wasn't working anymore. Once I got through and explained, they adjusted my payment amount and even gave me retroactive benefits for the month they underpaid. Definitely worth checking!

Ask them if they're counting your family as an AU (Assistance Unit) of 4. If your husband has any income that wasn't reported or if either of you have ever received CalWORKs before in the past and have used some of your 48-month time limit, that could affect things. Also, if either of you isn't participating in WTW (Welfare to Work) requirements without an exemption, they can reduce your grant amount by 25%.

After reading your responses, I think I know what might be happening. If your husband is required to participate in WTW but hasn't started yet, they might have applied a sanction to your grant amount. Even though he's scheduled to start his WTW plan, they sometimes reduce the amount until he actually begins participating. Also, double-check if they verified all your documentation. Sometimes they'll approve you at a lower amount pending verification of certain documents. When you do reach your worker, ask these specific questions: 1. What is my assistance unit size (should be 4)? 2. Are there any sanctions applied to my case? 3. Is there any unverified information reducing my grant amount? 4. Can you explain exactly how you calculated the $1,127 amount?

THE COUNTY ALWAYS TRIES TO CHEAT PEOPLE!! I've been on and off CalWORKS for years and they CONSTANTLY mess up the calculations and hope you don't notice!! They did the same thing to me and I had to FIGHT to get my correct amount!!! Don't let them get away with it!!!

wait ya u should also be getting ur diaper allowance if u got a kid under 3! thts an extra $30 per month per kid under 3. so with ur 3 year old u should be getting that too

After I got my approval notice, I received a second notice a few days later with the detailed breakdown of how they calculated my grant amount. Check your mail carefully - you might have or will receive something called a "Notice of Action" that explains the calculation. Sometimes these come separately from the approval notice.

UPDATE: I looked up the 2025 MAP amounts to be sure. For a family of 4 with no income in Region 1 (which includes LA County), the maximum aid payment should be $1,255. If you're getting $1,127, that's a difference of $128, which is almost exactly 10% of the full amount. This makes me think they might have applied a 10% penalty for some reason. This sometimes happens if there was a previous overpayment that they're recouping, or if someone failed to comply with some program requirement. Definitely call your worker. And when you do get through, ask for a supervisor if your worker can't clearly explain the difference.

I work at a legal aid organization and see this issue frequently. The $128 difference that Michael calculated is significant and suggests there might be a specific deduction being applied. A few additional things to check when you call: - Ask if they're deducting anything for "deemed income" (sometimes applied if there are non-citizen household members) - Verify they have the correct household composition - make sure both kids are included in the assistance unit - Ask about any "prospective budgeting" - they might be anticipating income that hasn't materialized Also, you have the right to request a fair hearing if you believe your grant amount is incorrect. Don't let them brush you off - you're entitled to a clear explanation of how every dollar was calculated. Keep detailed notes of your conversations including the worker's name and date you spoke. If you continue having trouble reaching your worker, you can also contact your local legal aid office for help navigating the system.

I'm sorry you're going through this stress! As a newcomer to CalWORKs myself, I wanted to share that I had a similar experience where my initial payment seemed low. It turned out they were missing one of my documents (my youngest child's birth certificate) so they were only counting 3 people instead of 4 in my household. The advice everyone gave about calling and asking specific questions is really good. I'd also suggest when you do get through, ask them to mail you a detailed breakdown of your grant calculation - they should be able to provide this in writing so you can review it carefully. One thing that helped me was calling right when they open in the morning (usually 8 AM). The wait times are usually shorter then. Also, if you have to leave a voicemail, be very specific about what you need - sometimes they'll call you back if it's a simple question they can answer quickly. Hope you get this sorted out soon!

I've been on CalWORKs for about 6 months now and had a similar issue when I first got approved. The amount you're getting does seem low for a family of 4 with no income in LA County. One thing I learned is that they sometimes make mistakes during the initial calculation, especially if you're a new case. The workers are handling so many cases and sometimes things get overlooked. Here's what I'd recommend based on my experience: - Call first thing Monday morning (8 AM sharp) - the hold times are much shorter then - Have your case number ready and ask to speak to your specific worker - If they can't explain the calculation clearly, ask to speak with a supervisor - Request they mail you a detailed breakdown showing exactly how they calculated your $1,127 Also, make sure they have all your documents on file. Sometimes they approve you with incomplete information and use a lower amount until everything is verified. The fact that you're only $128 away from the full amount for a family of 4 suggests there might be a specific reason for the reduction. Don't give up - you deserve to get the correct amount for your family size! Good luck and please update us when you find out what happened!

I'm new to CalWORKs too and just went through my interview last week. Reading through all these responses has been so educational! I didn't realize there were so many factors that could affect the grant amount. One thing I wanted to add that hasn't been mentioned yet - when I was at my interview, the worker gave me a paper that listed all the documents they still needed from me. She said if I didn't get everything in within 30 days, it could affect my benefit amount. Maybe check if there are any outstanding document requests that could be causing the reduction? Also, I noticed you mentioned having $1,200 in savings. I'm not sure if that affects the cash aid amount, but I know there are resource limits for CalWORKs. You might want to ask about that too when you call. Really hoping you get this figured out soon! The stress of not knowing if you're getting the right amount when you're already struggling financially is just awful. Keep us posted on what you find out - this thread is helping me understand the system better as a new recipient too.