CalWORKs phone interview no-show - worker didn't call at scheduled time, what now?

Same thing happened to me last month!! I waited TWO HOURS and nothin. When I finally got through to someone they said 'oh we tried calling but no one answered' which was a total LIE because I was literally staring at my phone the whole time with no missed calls!!! Call them ASAP before they mark you as a 'no show' cause that's what they tried to do to me. The system is rigged I swear.

You should definitely call them right away. According to CalWORKs regulations, they're required to make a good faith effort to contact you during your scheduled interview window, but sometimes workers get backed up or there might be a misunderstanding about who's supposed to call whom. If you call, make sure to document the date and time you call, who you speak with, and what they say. This will be important if there's any issue with your benefits later. Your benefits won't automatically stop - they have to send you a Notice of Action before discontinuing Cash Aid. But don't wait - the sooner you reach out to resolve this, the better.

Call them right now - but be prepared to be on hold forever trying to reach a human. After my worker missed our scheduled call, I spent 3 hours trying to get through on the county line and kept getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they held my place in line and called me back when a worker was available. Saved me hours of frustration! Here's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE Make sure you explain you were ready for the interview but never received a call. Sometimes they'll do the interview right then if you get through, or they'll reschedule you. Don't wait for them to call, because if they mark you as a no-show, they can deny your recertification.

they probly tryin to trip u up so they can deny u benefits thats wat they do to everyone now my worker always "forgets" to call me then blames me lol

make sure ur phone accepts blocked numbers!! my worker called from a blocked number and my phone was set to reject those calls lol. my own fault but still, almost lost my cash aid over it! and check that the phone # they have for u is correct in benefitscal. sometimes they have old numbers.

You need to call them immediately. There's a specific procedure for missed interviews. If you call today, they should be able to conduct the interview over the phone right then. Make sure you have all your verification documents ready (ID, income proof, rent/utilities, etc.). If you're using the new BenefitsCal portal, you can also send a secure message through there explaining that you were waiting for their call but didn't receive one. Upload any verification documents they need while you're at it. If you don't make contact with them within 10 days of the missed interview, they can deny your recertification for "failure to complete interview" and you'd have to start the application process all over again. Don't wait!

this happens all the time with my worker too. sometimes the call comes in like 2 hours later so maybe keep waiting?? once they called me at 4pm for a 9am appointment lol

Glad you got it sorted out! For anyone else dealing with this - always document everything when stuff like this happens. Write down the date/time of your scheduled interview, when you tried calling, who you spoke with, etc. I keep a little notebook just for CalWORKs stuff because workers change so much and sometimes the new one doesn't know what the old one promised. Also pro tip - if you have to reschedule, try to get morning appointments because afternoon ones get pushed back way more often in my experience.

Just wanted to add - if this happens again in the future, you can also try calling the main CalWORKs customer service line at 1-877-847-3663. They can sometimes patch you through directly to your worker or at least document that you were waiting for the call. Also, if you're in a county that uses the GetCalFresh portal, you can submit a complaint there about missed appointments. It creates a paper trail that can be helpful if you need to escalate later. Really glad you got it resolved though - system outages are unfortunately pretty common and it's not always the worker's fault!

So glad you got it resolved! This is actually really common - I work as a benefits advocate and see this happen to clients all the time. System outages, scheduling mix-ups, and worker overload are unfortunately just part of the reality with CalWORKs right now. For anyone reading this thread who might face this in the future: always call the same day if your worker doesn't call at the scheduled time. Don't wait! And definitely keep records like others mentioned - date, time, who you spoke with, what was said. I tell all my clients to treat these appointments like job interviews - be 10 minutes early, have all docs ready, and follow up immediately if something goes wrong. The system has flaws but most workers really are trying their best with impossible caseloads.