CalWORKs still showing wrong amount after income drop to $0 - reported 4x since August!

omg the same thing happened to me last yr!! they took FOREVER to update when i lost my job. did u submit ur SAR 7 with the zero income marked? sometimes they dont process it right if u just call

I did submit the SAR 7 showing zero income! I even got a receipt showing they received it. Still nothing has changed and my worker never returns calls.

You need to specifically request an 'Income Change Report' form in addition to reporting on your SAR 7. When your income drops to zero, they're supposed to process an immediate change rather than waiting for your regular reporting cycle. Also, make sure you've submitted verification of your job loss - termination letter, final pay stub, or an affidavit explaining your income stopped if you don't have those documents. You can reach a supervisor by: 1. Call the main CalWORKs line and specifically request to speak to your worker's supervisor (be firm but polite)2. File a formal complaint through the county's Civil Rights office 3. Contact your county Board of Supervisors office - they can often expedite casesIf you're facing eviction, also immediately ask about Emergency Assistance funds - there's a special process for housing emergencies that can be processed more quickly.

Thank you! I did submit my termination letter but I didn't know about the Income Change Report form - nobody mentioned that to me. I'll definitely call and specifically ask for that. Do you know if I can submit this online through BenefitsCal or do I have to go in person?

call early in the morning! thats when u can actually get thru. if u call after 10am forget about it they never pick up. also ask for a supervisor BY NAME if u can find out who it is. random supervisors will just transfer u back to regular queue

This is EXACTLY what's wrong with the entire system!! I had almost identical situation back in July and my benefits didn't update until SEPTEMBER even though I reported income change immediately!! They expect us to report income increases within 10 DAYS or we get penalized, but when we report DECREASES they take their sweet time fixing it. Meanwhile we're supposed to magically pay rent and feed our kids?!?! You need to keep calling EVERY DAY and document EVERYTHING. Get the name of every person you talk to and the time/date. Tell them you'll be filing a state hearing request if it's not fixed within 48 hours. That's what finally worked for me - they hate when you request formal hearings because it makes them look bad to the state.

this is good advice ^^^ the state hearing threat usually gets them moving. i learned that after 5 years on the program lol

I'd recommend trying Claimyr to get through to an actual worker. It's a service that calls the county for you and gets you connected without the usual wait times. I was in a similar situation where I needed to speak to a supervisor urgently about my CalWORKs benefits not reflecting my income change, and I kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours.I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to my worker in about 20 minutes - they have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. The service basically waits on hold for you and calls you back when a real person picks up. Much better than trying to call repeatedly yourself.Once you get through, specifically request to speak to a supervisor and mention that your income change reported in August has still not been processed and it's causing a housing emergency. They should be able to process the change while you're on the phone.

I've never heard of this service! Thanks for sharing. I'll check this out because I literally spend hours on hold every time. Does it work for all counties?

Yes, it works for all California counties! That's why I suggested it. The hold times for CalWORKs are ridiculous everywhere but especially in larger counties.

When you reported your income change, did you check if it put you over the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT)? If your previous income was under the IRT, they might be waiting until your next SAR 7 to process the change, even though that's technically not correct for income decreases. Also, did your worker ever send you a Notice of Action about the reported change? They're required to send something acknowledging the change was received.You definitely need to request a supervisor and possibly file for a state hearing if this isn't resolved soon. The county has 10 days to process reported changes that affect eligibility or benefit amounts. You might also be entitled to retroactive benefits from August when you first reported the change.If you keep having trouble, contact your local legal aid office - they specifically help with CalWORKs issues and can advocate for you.

My previous income was definitely under the IRT. And no, I never received any Notice of Action about the reported change, just the initial receipt showing they got my paperwork. I didn't know about the 10-day processing requirement or possible retroactive benefits - that's really helpful information, thank you.

did u try going in person?? sometimes u gotta physically show up or they ignore u forever. bring all ur paperwork and dont leave till they fix it!

dont waste ur time calling the main line just go straight to BenefitsCal and send a message to ur worker through the portal thats what worked 4 me when my cash aid was wrong. call center people have no power 2 do anything

I tried sending messages through BenefitsCal too, but I never get responses! Just says

Just to follow up on something important - since your income dropped to zero in August and it's now nearly November, you should be eligible for retroactive benefits for September and October. Make sure to specifically request the retroactive adjustment when you talk to a supervisor. You shouldn't lose those benefits just because of their processing delays.Also, since you've submitted verification of job loss, ask about expedited referral to the Welfare to Work program if you're not exempt. They should be helping you with job search or training while providing full benefits. And don't forget to check if you're eligible for maximum CalFresh benefits now too, since your income has dropped.

Thank you so much for this information. I'm going to ask about retroactive benefits specifically. I did apply for CalFresh separately and that got updated properly, but for some reason CalWORKs is stuck. I'll definitely bring up the WTW program too since I'm actively looking for work.

mine took 6 weeks to update and i had to borrow money for rent its so messed up