CalWORKs childcare payment delays with grandparent as provider - anyone having same issues?

I went through this last year with my sister watching my daughter. Their payment system for license-exempt relatives is SUPER slow compared to regular daycare centers. The first payment took almost 7 weeks, but after that it was more consistent (usually about 2 weeks after submitting attendance sheets). Make sure your mom completed the TrustLine background check - that's often what causes delays. Also double-check that your worker entered her provider code correctly in the system. One digit wrong and payments go nowhere!

Yes, TrustLine is required for ALL license-exempt providers, even grandparents, unless they live in your home. It's basically a background check through DOJ. Your mom should have filled out the forms when she applied to be a provider, but sometimes workers forget to process them. Call the Alternative Payment Program office (not your regular CalWORKs worker) and specifically ask about the status of her TrustLine registration. Regarding the provider code - ask them to verify all her information in the system while you're on the call.

OMG i had THE WORST time with this last year!! My aunt watched my son and the payments were so delayed she almost quit. If ur mom hasn't been paid yet, she prob needs to call and ask specifically about her "provider number" - they never assigned one to my aunt and that's why nothing was processing. Also make sure your Welfare to Work plan has the EXACT hours matching the childcare approval form. If they don't match exactly they hold up payment. So frustrating!!!

Went thru something similar with my mom as our provider. The thing that worked was calling the Alternative Payment Program office directly using Claimyr (claimyr.com). Regular phone calls I'd wait 2+ hours or get disconnected, but with this service I got a callback in about 20 mins and fixed everything in one call. There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. Once I got through, turns out they were missing one of my mom's forms (even though she submitted everything!) and they expedited her first payment after I explained the situation.

@commenter It definitely works - not a scam. They just hold your place in line and call you when someone answers. Saved me hours of waiting on hold.

my cousins been watching my kids for almost a year now and we still have issues with late payments sometimes lol just warning u its never gonna be perfect. make sure ur mom keeps track of EVERYTHING in writing. they lost our timesheets twice and tried to say we never sent them in but i had pictures of everything thank god. also they pay less for relatives than they do for daycare centers which is stupid imo

For license-exempt providers like relatives, the payment rate is 70% of what licensed providers receive. The exact amount depends on your county, the age of your children, and how many hours of care are approved. For example, in Los Angeles County, a license-exempt provider might receive around $8.50-9.50/hour per child for full-time care, while licensed providers get about $12-14/hour per child. But the most important thing right now is getting your mom in the system correctly. Once the first payment comes through, the rest should be more regular. Make sure your mom submits her attendance sheets on time every month - even one day late can cause delays.

Update: I finally got through to someone at the Alternative Payment Program office. Turns out they never processed my mom's TrustLine application, and that's why nothing was moving forward! They're expediting it now and said payments should start within 2 weeks. They're also going to backpay her for all the care she's provided since I was approved. Thank you everyone for your help! I would have never known to ask about TrustLine specifically.

So glad you got this resolved! This is exactly why I always tell people to call the Alternative Payment Program directly instead of just relying on your regular CalWORKs worker. They're two different systems and sometimes things fall through the cracks. The TrustLine issue is super common - happened to my neighbor too. Make sure your mom keeps copies of all her attendance sheets and any correspondence about payments. Once the system gets going it's usually pretty reliable, but that first payment setup is always a nightmare. Hope the backpay comes through quickly!

This is such a common issue! I'm a new member here but went through something similar with my mother-in-law as our provider. The TrustLine delay is unfortunately very typical - in our case it took about 6 weeks from application to approval. One thing that helped us was getting a case number for the TrustLine application so we could track its progress. Also, make sure your mom knows she needs to resubmit her TrustLine every few years (I think it's every 5 years) or payments will stop again. The Alternative Payment Program should have given her a provider handbook with all the deadlines and requirements. If she didn't get one, definitely ask for it! It has saved us from several potential payment delays.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now with my dad as our provider! He's been watching my 2-year-old for about 6 weeks and we're still waiting on the first payment. Reading through all these comments is so helpful - I had no idea about the TrustLine requirement either. My CalWORKs worker definitely didn't explain that part clearly. I'm going to call the Alternative Payment Program office tomorrow and specifically ask about his TrustLine status and provider number. It's so frustrating that they don't tell you about these potential delays upfront. My dad has been great about helping out but he's on a fixed income and really needs those payments to start coming through. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - at least now I know what questions to ask!

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same thing right now! My grandmother has been watching my 4-year-old for about 5 weeks while I'm in the WTW program and we haven't seen a single payment yet. Reading all these responses is eye-opening - my worker never mentioned TrustLine at all, and now I'm wondering if that's what's holding everything up. I called three times this week and keep getting told "it's processing" with no real timeline. It's putting so much stress on my grandma because she's been buying snacks and supplies for my daughter out of her own pocket. I'm definitely going to try calling the Alternative Payment Program office directly tomorrow and ask specifically about TrustLine status and the provider number. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it helps to know I'm not alone in dealing with this mess of a system!