Did CalWORKs benefits change after COVID? Where can I check my current eligibility?

The COVID emergency allotments for CalFresh ended back in 2023, but that was different from CalWORKs Cash Aid. For CalWORKs, they actually did increase the grant amounts in October 2023, and then there was another small increase in July 2024. The exact amount depends on your region (high-cost counties get slightly more) and how many people are in your assistance unit. You can check your current benefit amount by logging into BenefitsCal.com and viewing your notices. There should be a Notice of Action that shows your current grant calculation. If you can't find it there, you can request a benefit verification letter through BenefitsCal that will show your current amount.

i was wondering the same thing!!! my worker never tells me anything and i think my benefits went down actually not up. they sent me a letter but i couldnt understand all the numbers.

Los Angeles is definitely a Region 1 county (higher cost), so your family of 3 should be getting $1,026 per month in CalWORKs if you have no other income. If you have income, they deduct a portion from that maximum amount. The benefit amounts did increase slightly over the past two years, but not dramatically. The COVID emergency assistance was primarily for CalFresh (food stamps), not Cash Aid. If you're having trouble getting through to your county office, I'd recommend using the Claimyr service (claimyr.com). They'll connect you directly to a human at the county welfare office without waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. I used it last month when I needed to speak to a worker about my Welfare to Work hours and got through in minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait.

i think ur mixing up calfresh and calworks benefits. the covid emergency allotments were for CALFRESH only not cash aid. calworks just had its regular yearly adjustments nothin to do with covid. you should have gotten a notice of action (NOA) explaining any changes. if u didnt get one call ur worker!!!

Just to add something important - make sure you're reporting ALL your income correctly on your upcoming SAR7. With the increased scrutiny on benefit fraud lately, the counties are being super strict about income reporting. Even if you think your benefits decreased when they should have increased, it's better to report everything accurately than risk an overpayment or worse. I know someone who got hit with a CalWORKs overpayment because they didn't report some side income, and they're now having to pay back thousands of dollars.

I had the same question last month!!! I ended up going IN PERSON to my county office (hate doing that but nothing else worked) and they printed out the current benefit chart for me. Turns out my family of 4 WAS getting the correct amount. If BenefitsCal isn't working for you and phone calls are useless, sometimes physically going there is the only way to get answers. Bring something to do though because the wait times are ridiculous.

To clarify what others have said: 1. COVID emergency allotments were for CalFresh only and ended in March 2023 2. CalWORKs has regular annual cost-of-living adjustments (usually small increases) 3. The most recent CalWORKs increase was in July 2024 4. Los Angeles is a Region 1 county (higher payment standard) Aside from checking BenefitsCal, you should have received a Notice of Action about 30 days before any change to your grant amount. The notice explains the change, when it happens, and shows the calculation. If you didn't get one, that could be a problem with your contact information on file. Also, while your SAR7 is due next month, remember that updates to CalWORKs payment standards don't require any action from you - they're automatic. You only need to report changes to your income, household composition, or other circumstances on the SAR7.