CalWORKs renewal nightmare in Santa Barbara County - can't get through for a month!

i had the EXACT same problem with santa barbara county last year. they discontinued my benefits for being like 3 days late with my SAR7 and it took me WEEKS to get it fixed. the phone system is completely useless. i ended up having to physically go down to the office and wait all day, and even then they said they had to "escalate" my case. took almost a month to get my benefits back and i nearly got evicted.

Same issue here but with Ventura county. It's ridiculous! I think they make it hard on purpose so people give up. Have you tried sending a message through BenefitsCal? Sometimes they respond there when they won't pick up the phone.

Former eligibility worker here. When you're late on a renewal, even by a day, the system automatically starts the discontinuance process. However, you still have what's called "cure rights" - basically you can still complete the renewal process within a grace period. In Santa Barbara County, you have until the end of the month following your renewal month to provide everything and have your benefits restored without having to reapply from scratch. Key things to do: 1. Make sure ALL verification documents are uploaded to BenefitsCal 2. Complete the interview if you haven't already 3. Document every attempt to contact them (dates/times) 4. If your benefits stop, request a fair hearing immediately - this often gets attention faster Hang in there - once they process everything, they'll issue retroactive benefits for any months you missed.

Try using Claimyr to get through to a CalWORKs worker. I was in the same situation last month and nothing was working. A friend told me about this service that gets you through to a real person at the county office. I went to claimyr.com and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE) - basically they wait on hold for you and call you when they get a worker on the line. Saved me hours of frustration. I got through to someone and explained my situation and they pushed my renewal through in 2 days.

Did you submit your renewal through BenefitsCal or paper? Because if you did it online they should have a record even if it was late. Sometimes the county workers won't process late renewals quickly because they're prioritizing on-time ones, but they legally can't just ignore you. If you call right when they open (like 7:58am) you might have better luck getting through.

santa barbara county is the worst!!! there customer service is terrible sorry your going thru this mama. they did this to my sister too and she ended up haveing to reapply and lost benefits for like 2 months. she said the WTW office was easier to reach then the regular workers maybe try calling them???

I don't understand why they make this process so difficult. I swear they design these systems to discourage people from staying on benefits. Have you considered reaching out to a local legal aid organization? They might be able to advocate for you.

After I saw your post I called the Santa Barbara office myself just to check how bad it is, and wow - the automated system kept me in circles for 15 minutes before disconnecting me! I definitely recommend Claimyr for this situation. When I used it for my renewal issue, I got a call back within about 45 minutes with an actual human worker on the line. My benefits were restored and backdated so I didn't lose anything.

Have you tried calling exactly at 8am? That worked for me once with Medi-Cal.

Update on what I said earlier about cure rights - I just double-checked and specifically for Santa Barbara County, if your renewal was due in February, you have until the end of March to complete the process without having to start a new application. The key is getting someone to actually process it. If you're still struggling after trying the phone methods others suggested, another option is to contact your county Board of Supervisors office. It sounds extreme, but they can often intervene when constituents are having issues with county services. Just explain your situation clearly - that you submitted renewal paperwork, you're making good faith efforts to complete the process, and you cannot reach anyone despite multiple attempts.

Did you check if your renewal was actually received in the system? Sometimes they mark things as "not received" even when submitted through BenefitsCal. You can check the status in your BenefitsCal account under Documents & Notices.

This whole system is such a mess. My friend in LA County set up an in-person appointment through BenefitsCal when she couldn't get through on the phone. Does Santa Barbara offer that option?