Do I need to report plasma donation income to CalWORKs? Worried about losing benefits

Yes, you do need to report plasma donation income to CalWORKs. It counts as income because you're being paid for it. Any money you receive needs to be reported on your SAR7 when it's due or within 10 days if it puts you over your IRT (which they should have told you what that amount is in your approval letter). If you're close to your IRT already, you might want to calculate carefully how much the plasma donation would put you over. Sometimes it's worth earning a bit more even if your cash aid gets reduced because you end up with more money overall.

I did plasma for like 6 months last year and didn't report it 🤷‍♀️ nobody ever said anything. they pay in pre-paid visa cards at my place so its not like a regular paycheck that shows up anywhere

I'm in the same boat! Car repairs are THE WORST when ur on a tight budget. Have you tried calling 211? They sometimes have emergency assistance programs that can help with car repairs especially if its needed for work. That way you don't risk your benefits.

The county is so frustrating!! Why can't they just let people EARN SOME EXTRA MONEY without taking everything away??? It's like they want to keep us poor!! I tried doing Instacart last year and as soon as I reported it they cut my cash aid almost to NOTHING. System is broken!!!!

If your husband has a job already why dont you qualify for CalFresh instead of CalWORKs? we used to get cash aid but once my boyfriend got even a parttime job we got switched to just calfresh and medi-cal

This might sound weird but have you thought about trying to reach your worker to ask them directly? I had a similar question about babysitting money I was making on the side. I tried calling for THREE WEEKS and kept getting the automated system but couldn't get through to an actual person. So frustrating! I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that somehow gets you through the phone system to a real worker. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE. My worker confirmed that yes, I had to report the side income, but also told me about the income disregard that someone else mentioned here. The peace of mind from getting a straight answer from my actual worker was worth it. Better than risking an overpayment later!

I wanted to add some accurate information here. Plasma donation payments are indeed considered earned income for CalWORKs and must be reported. However, as someone else mentioned, CalWORKs has a work incentive called the "earned income disregard." Here's how it works: - The first $225 of earned income doesn't count at all - After that, 50% of your remaining earned income is disregarded So if you earned $400 from plasma donations in a month, only $87.50 would count against your grant ($400 - $225 = $175, then 50% of $175 = $87.50). Also, remember that going over your IRT doesn't automatically mean losing benefits. It means you must report it within 10 days (instead of waiting for your next SAR7), and then your benefits may be recalculated. Sometimes it's worth earning more even if your cash aid goes down some. Finally, definitely look into the county's Welfare to Work supportive services - they sometimes can help with car repairs if the vehicle is needed for work!

When I was in WTW they actually helped me fix my car once! I totally forgot about that until just now reading these comments. It was under something called "supportive services" and they paid like $600 for repairs because I needed my car for my job training program. Ask your worker about that!!