Can Veterans disability benefits be garnished for CalWORKs child support cases?

This is actually a really important question that comes up a lot. VA disability benefits CAN be garnished, but only in certain circumstances. If your ex is receiving VA disability compensation (the most common type), then YES - up to 50% can be garnished for child support. However, if he's receiving VA pension (less common), those are protected from garnishment. The problem is that the child support agency has to take specific steps to garnish VA benefits, and sometimes they don't know how or don't prioritize these cases. You should specifically tell your child support caseworker (not your CalWORKs worker) that you know he's receiving VA disability compensation and request they pursue garnishment through the proper channels.

my ex get VA disability 2 and they took almost 2 YEARS to start getting the money!!! u have to be super pushy with dcss. call them every week and ask for updates. the workers are so overloaded with cases they only work on the ones where people bother them the most lol

You need to contact DCSS (Department of Child Support Services) directly. Since you're on CalWORKs, they should already have an open case, but you may need to provide additional information about his VA benefits. Here's what you should do: 1. Call DCSS and request to speak specifically with your assigned caseworker (not just any representative) 2. Tell them you have confirmed he receives VA disability compensation 3. Ask them to initiate a garnishment request through the VA 4. Get a case update in writing Also, be aware that when they do start collecting support, a portion will go to the county to reimburse your CalWORKs benefits, and only amounts above that will come to you directly. But if they collect enough, you could end up with more total income. Hope this helps!

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to DCSS? It took me FOREVER to reach my caseworker until I found this service. They get you through all those phone trees and long waits. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE or just go to claimyr.com. It was a lifesaver when I was trying to resolve my child support issues with my CalWORKs case. Once I actually got someone on the phone who could help, things started moving within weeks.

NONE of the govt agencies talk to each other properly!!! I had this EXACT situation and my case worker at DCSS told me one thing while the CalWORKs worker told me something totally different! And then when I tried to get them to talk to each other they both said they couldn't because of "confidentiality" 🤬 The whole system is designed to make us fail I swear.

Just wanted to add - make sure you keep receiving your CalWORKs until the child support is ACTUALLY coming in regularly. I made the mistake of telling my worker about a potential child support payment before it was guaranteed, and they reduced my benefits... then the child support never came through and I was stuck short on money for months while they fixed it.

To answer your follow-up question - yes, you need to contact DCSS directly. Your CalWORKs worker doesn't have the authority to take action on child support enforcement. Call the DCSS customer service number for your county and ask for your case worker. Be specific about what you know: - That he receives VA disability compensation - The approximate amount if you know it ($1,800/month) - Any other information about his financial situation If you get pushback or they say they can't garnish the benefits (some workers aren't properly trained on this), ask to speak with a supervisor. VA disability compensation is definitely eligible for garnishment for child support - this is federal law. Just be persistent!

also just fyi when they do start garnishing his benefits youll only get like $50 of it since your on calworks. the rest goes to the county to "pay back" the benefits theyve given u. its so backwards! they should let us keep it all since were the ones taking care of the kids!

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My ex also gets VA disability and it took me months to figure out that I needed to be super specific with DCSS about what type of benefits he receives. One thing that really helped me was getting a copy of his VA award letter (I found it when picking up my kids one time). Having that documentation with the exact monthly amount made DCSS take action much faster. Also, just a heads up - even though it's frustrating that most of the money goes to reimburse CalWORKs, once they start collecting regularly you might find that the total amount puts you in a better financial position overall. In my case, I was able to transition off cash aid after about 6 months of consistent collections because my total income (child support + work) became enough to cover our expenses. Hang in there and keep pushing - the squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease with these agencies!