CalWORKs payment missing for March? Can't see next payment date on BenefitsCal account

if u just started in jan then no way its recert. did u turn in ur monthly reports? if u miss those they cut u off right away. check ur mail they might of sent something u didnt see

I didn't get any report forms to fill out yet. I thought the SAR7 was due after 6 months? I've been checking my mail every day. I'm wondering if there's a way to see if my case is still active without having to spend 4 hours on hold.

CalWORKs doesn't show future payment dates online - that's normal. Your payment schedule depends on your case number. If you started in January, you're definitely not due for recertification yet, but there are a few things that could be happening:1. Your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) might have been exceeded if you had income changes2. The county might need additional verification they requested by mail3. Sometimes there are system delays that cause payments to be a few days late4. Your EBT card might have expired if you're using one from a previous benefits periodThe most reliable way to check your case status is to contact your worker directly. Did you receive any notices in the mail recently?

Thank you! I haven't received any notices and my income hasn't changed at all. My EBT card is the same one I used for the January and February payments. I guess I need to somehow reach my worker, but that's the problem - I keep getting stuck in the automated phone system.

You're right that you shouldn't need to recertify this early. SAR7s are due in the 6th month of your certification period, and the full recertification (SAWS 2) is annually. One thing to be aware of: CalWORKs payments can be affected if you didn't complete all your Welfare to Work requirements. Did you have an appointment with an employment counselor or need to complete any orientation activities after being approved? Missing those can cause a hold on benefits without much notice.Also, did you get your Medi-Cal card? Sometimes when there are issues with your Medi-Cal eligibility, it can affect your Cash Aid too, even though they're technically separate programs.

I did have a WTW orientation in February that I attended. They said I'd need to start the job search activities in April, but nothing was due yet. I do have my Medi-Cal card and that seems to be working fine. I just checked BenefitsCal again and there's still no indication of what's going on with my case.

This happened to me last year! My payment didn't come and I was FREAKING OUT. Turns out they had sent me a notice requesting verification of my childcare expenses because I had mentioned something about it to my worker. But the notice got lost in the mail or something because I never got it. They suspended my benefits when I didn't respond. You really need to talk to someone at your county office ASAP.

omg same thing with me but it was about my rent receipt! they wanted proof i was using the money for housing and never told me until my benefits stopped. the system is so broken sometimes i swear they WANT us to fail 🙄

After dealing with this exact problem last month, I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual person at the CalWORKs office. It's at claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwEBasically they call and wait on hold for you, then call you when they get a real person. Saved me from spending literal hours trying to get through. My issue was that they needed verification of something but the notice went to my old address even though I had updated it online. Once I talked to someone, they fixed it and released my payment that same day.

Thank you so much for this! I'm going to try it right now. I'm desperate to figure out what's going on because I have no backup plan for rent this month. Did they actually help you quickly once you got through?

FYI - sometimes the system holds up benefits if there was an issue with your child support cooperation requirement. If you have kids and the other parent isn't in the picture, you have to cooperate with child support enforcement unless you have a good cause exemption. Did you complete all that paperwork? They're super strict about it and will cut off benefits with very little warning if anything is missing.

Yes, I did all the child support cooperation forms when I applied. The father of my children is actually paying child support through the court system already, so they have all that information. I provided everything they asked for during the application process.

I wanted to update that I used the Claimyr service I mentioned and finally got through to someone. My issue was completely different than what I expected - turns out they had a question about my citizenship verification that they tried to call me about but had the wrong phone number on file. Once I talked to the worker, they fixed it that day and released my payment. The whole thing took less than 10 minutes once I actually reached someone. So frustrating that these small issues can hold up benefits that people rely on for basic necessities.

This is why it's so important to make sure your contact information is always up-to-date in the system. I recommend checking your profile in BenefitsCal regularly to make sure they have your current phone number, email, and mailing address. You can update this information yourself online, which is much easier than having to call in.

UPDATE: I got through! It turned out there was a processing error on their end. My March payment was approved but got stuck in their system somehow. The worker was actually really nice about it and said they'd expedite my payment - should be on my card within 24 hours. She also showed me where to look on BenefitsCal to see my benefit status (under the

So glad you got it sorted out! This system is so stressful sometimes. Make sure you save your worker's direct number for next time - that's what I learned to do after my third payment issue 😂