CalWORKs direct deposit timing question - will my March setup affect April payment?

Yes, your worker is correct. When you apply for direct deposit with CalWORKs, it typically takes one full payment cycle to process. So if you applied on March 4th, your April payment will be the first one that goes to direct deposit. They have to issue March's payment as a check because the direct deposit setup won't be fully processed in time for this month's payment cycle. The good news is that once it's set up, you'll get your payments 1-2 days faster than paper checks going forward.

NOPE! Dont listen to them! I applied for direct deposit last summer and they STILL sent me a check the next month!!! Had to call like 5 times to finally get it fixed. The county workers have NO IDEA what there doing half the time omg. Check ur account on benefitscal to see if it shows ur direct deposit is active yet.

Mine took about 20 days to process but that was back in 2024. you shuold call ur worker and double check that everything is entered correct in their system. i had a issue where they put my account # wrong and my payment got rejected by my bank. ended up having to wait for a replacement check which took foreverrrrr

If you really need to check on the status, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to your CalWORKs office faster. I was in the same situation with direct deposit concerns and spent 3 days trying to get through on the regular line with no luck. Used their service and got connected in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. Saved me so much stress and I found out my direct deposit was actually set up correctly, just needed that one payment cycle to kick in.

Here's the official process: Direct deposit requests typically take 30 days to process according to CDSS guidelines. If you applied on March 4th, your March payment will still be a paper check, and April should be direct deposit. Make sure to check your mail carefully though - sometimes they send a direct deposit confirmation notice that looks like junk mail. If you don't receive April's payment by direct deposit, contact your worker immediately as there may have been an issue with the account verification process. You can also check BenefitsCal to see if your direct deposit status shows as "Active" or "Pending" under the Payment Preferences section.

my sister signed up for direct deposit and they lost her paperwork completely lol had to resubmit twice before it finally went thru. but when it did work it was pretty nice gettin the $ right away!

I work with families navigating CalWORKs, and here's what you should know about direct deposit: 1. The standard processing time is 1 payment cycle (your worker is correct) 2. March's payment will be a check as scheduled 3. April's payment should go to direct deposit 4. You can verify it's set up by calling the EBT customer service line (not the county office) and asking if direct deposit is showing as active on your account If you want to be proactive, call your worker in late March just to confirm everything is on track for April's direct deposit. Document who you speak with and what they tell you, just in case there are any issues later.

Just wanted to add my experience - I set up direct deposit in January and it worked exactly like everyone is saying. Got my last paper check that month, then direct deposit started the next cycle. The key thing is to make sure you save that direct deposit confirmation paperwork they give you (or take a photo of it) because if there are any issues later, having that reference number makes it way easier to resolve. Also, once it kicks in, the money usually hits your account on the 1st or 2nd of the month instead of waiting for the mail on the 10th, so it's definitely worth the wait!