Fresno County CalWORKs school age supplement with letter J - anyone received it yet?
Has anyone in Fresno County received their school age supplement payment for kids with last names starting with J yet? My worker said payments were going out in alphabetical batches, and A-I already went out last week. My daughter's last name starts with J and we haven't gotten anything. The school year is starting in 2 weeks and I was counting on that money for her supplies and clothes. My BenefitsCal account doesn't show any pending payments either. Getting worried since the August food stipend already posted but nothing for school supplies. Anyone else waiting on letter J or know when they're sending the next batch?
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Chad Winthrope
my kids last name starts with L and we got ours yesterday so maybe yours is coming soon??? they told me it depends on when ur regular cash aid payment hits cuz they stagger them
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Ellie Lopez
•That gives me hope! Our regular cash aid hits on the 3rd. Did yours come separate or with your regular benefits?
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Paige Cantoni
I work with families receiving CalWORKs in Fresno County, and I can confirm they are releasing the school age supplement in batches based on last name. However, they're not strictly alphabetical - it's based on caseload distribution. J-M should be receiving payments between August 1-5 according to the schedule I saw. If you don't receive it by August 6th, you should contact your eligibility worker. Remember that to qualify, your child needs to be between 4-18 years old as of July 1, 2025, and you must have received CalWORKs cash aid for the benefit month of July. The supplement is $439 per eligible child this year.
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Ellie Lopez
•Thank you so much for this info! I'll wait until the 6th before panicking. My daughter definitely qualifies - she's 9 and we've been on Cash Aid continuously since 2023. The $439 will really help with school supplies.
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Kylo Ren
•Is this the same as the School Readiness payment? My worker never mentioned anything about supplements being sent out in alphabetical batches. My kids' last names start with W and we haven't gotten anything either. I thought maybe we didn't qualify for some reason.
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Nina Fitzgerald
I had the same issue last year but with different letter group. Kept checking BenefitsCal every day and nothing showed up, but then the money appeared on my EBT card without any notification! Check your balance directly on the card even if your online account doesn't show anything. BTW if anyone is having trouble reaching their worker about this, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) last month when I couldn't get through about a different issue. They got me connected to a real person at Fresno County in like 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE
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Jason Brewer
•The school age supplement and the School Readiness payment are the same thing - just different terms for it. And FYI they don't necessarily post it to BenefitsCal right away even after it hits your card. The system updates can lag by 2-3 days sometimes.
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Ellie Lopez
•I just checked my EBT card directly and nothing yet. But good to know it might not show online right away! I'll check the actual card balance daily. And thanks for that Claimyr tip - if it doesn't come by the 6th like the other person mentioned, I'll definitely try that instead of sitting on hold forever.
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Kiara Fisherman
This whole alphabetical batch thing is RIDICULOUS!!! Why can't they just release all the funds at once?? My kids have W last name and we're always LAST for everything. School starts in 1 week for us and now we're supposed to wait until what, mid-August for supplies? By then all the good stuff is gone from stores. Last year they didn't give us our payment until after school started and my kids had to go with old supplies. The system is totally BROKEN and nobody at the county office cares!!!
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Chad Winthrope
•i feel u... my friend has Z last name and shes always last 4 everything. maybee call ur worker and tell them u need it urgent?????
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Paige Cantoni
•I understand your frustration. The batch processing is unfortunately due to system limitations and staffing constraints. If your child's school starts within 7 days and you haven't received your supplement, you can request an expedited payment. You'll need to provide proof of the school start date to your worker and specify that it's an urgent need situation. They can sometimes issue these on a case-by-case basis outside the alphabetical schedule.
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Liam Cortez
Mine starts with J too and I got it yesterday! Check your EBT balance not just BenefitsCal. My account online still doesn't show it but the money is definitely on my card. I bank with Chase and got a deposit notification when it hit, that's how I knew to check. It might depend on what office handles your case too - I'm under the Clovis office even though we're all Fresno County.
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Ellie Lopez
•Thanks for letting me know! I'm under the downtown Fresno office. I'll keep checking my card directly. Did you get a separate letter or anything about it?
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Liam Cortez
•No letter at all! Just the money showed up. I didn't get any notification except from my bank when the deposit hit my EBT account.
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Kylo Ren
Wat is the school age supplement???? Is this different from regular CalWORKs? I have 3 kids and never heard of this but we get cash aid. Do I need to apply for something extra?? Nobody told me about any school money!!!
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Jason Brewer
•It's an automatic supplement for families with school-age children who receive CalWORKs. You don't need to apply separately. It's meant to help with school supplies, clothing, etc. Each eligible child (4-18 years old) should get $439 this year. If you get regular Cash Aid and have eligible children, you should receive it automatically based on the alphabetical schedule they're using.
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Kylo Ren
•Omg thank u!! Nobody ever explained this to me. My kids are 5, 7 and 12 so they should all qualify. Going to check my EBT card right now!
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