CalWORKs payment suddenly available at midnight - safe to withdraw in the rain?
Did anyone else get their CalWORKs Cash Aid loaded at midnight instead of the usual morning time? My BenefitsCal app is showing my payment is available now but it's pouring rain and I'm nervous about going to the ATM at this hour. Will the funds still be there at a normal hour tomorrow? Last time I waited, there was a system glitch and my money got temporarily frozen for 24 hours when they did some verification thing. I really need groceries for my kids tomorrow but don't want to get soaked at 6am when the closest ATM with no fees is 6 blocks away. Anyone know if this midnight deposit is normal or if I should just risk getting wet?
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Miguel Diaz
girl just wait till morning the $$$ not going nowhere! i always get mine loaded at weird times but it stays there. ATMs be sketchy at night anyways
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Ava Rodriguez
•Thanks, you're probably right. Just paranoid after that last verification hold they put. My worker never even explained what happened.
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Zainab Ahmed
This has been happening more frequently with the EBT card system updates. Your CalWORKs benefits are being loaded earlier due to changes in their processing schedule. The funds will absolutely still be there tomorrow - they don't disappear! The temporary freeze you experienced before was likely related to your Semi-Annual Report (SAR7) verification timing, not because you waited to withdraw the money. For your peace of mind, you can check your balance through the BenefitsCal app throughout the night to confirm it's still there.
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Connor Gallagher
•EXACTLY THIS!! The early deposit hapened to me 2 months ago and I freaked out thinking I was getting someone elses money lol. Its just their system got faster with the payments. Nothing 2 worry about!
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AstroAlpha
Omg I hate when the county does stuff without telling anyone!!!!! I bet NO ONE got a notice saying "hey we're changing when your money hits your account" 🙄 Classic CalWORKs to make changes and expect us to figure it out. Did you try calling your worker? Oh wait, that's basically IMPOSSIBLE with their phone system that hangs up on you after 2 hours on hold. My worker hasn't answered my calls in THREE WEEKS about my Welfare to Work assignment issue.
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Yara Khoury
•If you're having trouble reaching your worker, I'd recommend trying Claimyr. It's a service that holds your place in the phone queue and calls you back when a real person is about to answer. I was skeptical at first, but it saved me hours of hold time last month when I needed to fix an income reporting issue that almost resulted in a discontinuance notice. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE that shows how it works. Much better than getting disconnected after hours on hold.
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Keisha Taylor
This seems to be a regular thing now with the Cash Aid payments. I've noticed mine coming in anywhere from midnight to 2am on the payment date instead of during business hours like it used to. Your money will definitely still be there in the morning! The verification hold you mentioned sounds like it might have been an Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) issue or possibly related to your child support cooperation requirement. Those can trigger temporary holds that clear automatically. Did your Eligibility Worker mention anything about those?
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Ava Rodriguez
•No, my worker never explained what happened with that hold! Just said 'system verification' or something vague. I don't even know what an IRT is honestly, and I've never had child support stuff come up - my kids' dad isn't in the picture at all and I told them that during my application interview.
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Keisha Taylor
•An IRT is your Income Reporting Threshold - it's the amount of income you can earn before you need to report it to CalWORKs outside of your regular SAR7 reporting period. It should be listed on your approval notices. System verification could mean a number of things, but it's usually automatic and temporary. I'd recommend documenting these issues in case it happens again. You might want to ask for a supervisor if your regular worker isn't explaining things clearly.
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Paolo Longo
this happend to me two but i went at 2am bc my baby was up crying anyway lol. money was there just like normal. the atm outside the 7-11 by me doesnt charge a fee for ebt cards you could check if theres one closer? but tbh just wait till morning,, the rain isnt worth it!!
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Ava Rodriguez
•Thanks for letting me know it worked! And good tip about 7-11, I forgot they have the no-fee ATMs for EBT. There's actually one like 2 blocks from me that might be better than walking 6 blocks in the rain.
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Connor Gallagher
Mine came at like 3am last month and 11:45pm this month its cray! But I think they testing a new sistem or something. My sistrs calfresh hits at wierd times now 2
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Keisha Taylor
Just a quick update for everyone in this thread - I spoke with my CalWORKs worker yesterday about this exact issue. The county has officially shifted to a new deposit schedule using an automated system that processes payments throughout the night rather than during the standard 9-5 workday. This is actually good news as it means funds are available earlier than before. Your benefits won't disappear if you don't withdraw them immediately - they remain on your card until you use them (though remember unused benefits don't affect your eligibility or future payment amounts).
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Miguel Diaz
•thx 4 the update!! good 2 know they doin somethin right for once lol
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Ava Rodriguez
UPDATE: I waited until morning and my money was still there! Didn't have to go out in the rain at 6am after all. Thanks everyone for the advice and peace of mind! The closest 7-11 ATM worked with no fees too.
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Zainab Ahmed
•Glad it worked out! For future reference, you can also use the BenefitsCal app to check your balance and transaction history anytime. It updates in real-time and can help ease worries about whether funds are available.
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