CalWORKs grant decreased after my hours were cut - making less but getting less cash aid?

That definitely sounds wrong. When your income goes down, your CalWORKs grant should go UP, not down. My guess is either: 1) They calculated your income wrong (maybe they're still using your old income?), 2) Something else changed in your case that you might not be aware of, or 3) There was a mistake in the system. Did you get a Notice of Action (NOA) in the mail explaining the decrease? It should show exactly how they calculated your grant and what income they used. That's the first thing to check.

I checked my mail again and found the NOA. They're showing I worked 120 hours last month at $18/hour? That's completely wrong - I was already at reduced hours. I only worked like 68 hours total. How could they mess this up when I uploaded my new schedule??

did u report any other changes? sometimes if u add someone to ur household or something it can change things. also check ur income reporting threshold (IRT) on ur last approval letter. if u didn't go under that amount they might not have processed the change yet

No other changes at all. Just my work hours. What's an IRT? Is that like the maximum I can earn? I'm definitely earning way less now, that's the whole problem!

This happens way too often. The computer system sometimes doesn't update correctly when you report changes through BenefitsCal. Since you found your NOA and confirmed they're using the wrong income calculation, you need to contact your worker ASAP to request a correction. Your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) is the income limit they give you - if you go OVER it, you need to report within 10 days. But going UNDER it doesn't usually require mid-period reporting unless you completely lose income. However, since you did report it, they should have processed it correctly.You have three options:1. Keep calling the county office (which can take forever)2. Go in person if you can (bring your pay stubs/schedule showing reduced hours)3. Request a State Hearing (you have 90 days from the NOA date

Thanks for explaining. I've been trying to call for 2 days and either get disconnected or stuck on hold forever. Can't go in person because I can't miss any of my remaining work hours. If I request a hearing will that fix it faster or take even longer?

I had the EXACT same problem last year! I went from full-time to part-time and my grant dropped by like $75. I was freaking out! Turns out they were calculating my income using my old paystubs even though I reported the change. I finally got through to my worker after using Claimyr (claimyr.com) - it's this service that gets you through to an actual CalWORKs worker without waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. My worker fixed it right away and I got retroactive benefits for the month they calculated wrong.Def worth it because they fixed my grant amount AND gave me back pay for what I should have received. Otherwise I would've been waiting weeks for them to fix it.

does that service actually work? i spend HOURS trying to get thru to my worker every month its insane

@username8 Yeah it worked for me 3 different times. They call the county office for you and then call you back when they've got a worker on the line. Saves hours of waiting on hold.

I'm going to try it tomorrow because I'm desperate at this point. Will update if I get through to someone. Thanks for the suggestion.

sometimes they mess up calculations SPECIFICALLY when income goes down!!! the system is designed to catch increases not decreases. my worker straight up told me this!! you HAVE TO CALL and get someone to manually review it. good luck because its almost impossible to get through 😡

This is actually true. The CalWORKs system is more focused on catching unreported income increases than processing decreases. It's definitely a flaw in how the system works.

UPDATE: Finally got through to a worker! You were all right - they were using my old income even though I reported the change. The worker said my report got

That's great news! For future reference, whenever you report a change that should INCREASE your benefits (like reduced income), always follow up if you don't see the change reflected in your next payment. The system isn't great at automatically processing these types of changes. Glad it worked out!

This is why I always take screenshots of EVERYTHING I upload to BenefitsCal and write down the confirmation numbers. The system loses things constantly. And ALWAYS check your NOAs carefully - they make calculation errors all the time. If your CalWORKs grant doesn't make sense, it's probably wrong.

That's good advice. I'm definitely going to be more careful moving forward. I didn't even think to check the NOA until someone here mentioned it. Lesson learned!

one thing no one mentioned is that WTW (welfare to work) has minimum participation hours which is usually 30 hours for a single parent with kids over 6. if your work hours dropped below your required WTW hours, theres sometimes a penalty. did your worker mention anything about WTW requirements when you talked to them?

The worker didn't mention anything about WTW requirements. She just said they used the wrong income. But now I'm worried - will I get in trouble for not working enough hours? My kids are 4 and 7.

@username5 With a child under 6, your WTW requirement is only 20 hours per week, not 30. Since you're working 15-20 hours, you're right at the minimum. Your worker should have discussed WTW with you if it was an issue. If they're just fixing the income calculation, that's probably all it was. But it wouldn't hurt to ask about your WTW status the next time you speak with them, just to make sure you're meeting requirements. There are also exemptions available if you can't meet the hours requirement for good cause (like lack of childcare, health issues, etc.).

Thank you so much for the clarification! I had no idea the hour requirement was different with a younger child. I'll definitely ask about this next time I talk to my worker.