How to check my exact CalWORKs payment amount for next month? BenefitsCal showing nothing

The Notice of Action letters are supposed to tell you when your amount changes and why. Did you check your mail? Sometimes they send them super last minute or they get lost. You can also call your worker, though good luck getting through 🙄 I always take screenshots whenever I see an amount change on my account so I have proof.

sometimes the amounts change if u reported ur income differently on ur last SAR7. or if somebody aged out like if ur kid turned 18 or somthing. they're real sneaky about not telling us when they change stuff 😡

Hi there - I work with CalWORKs recipients, and there are actually a few ways to check your upcoming payment amount: 1. The BenefitsCal Message Center sometimes posts payment notices before the actual payment 2. Call your worker and specifically ask for your "benefit breakdown" for April - they should be able to tell you the exact amount and why it changed 3. Visit the office in person and request a printout of your payment calculation 4. If you've reported any changes in income or household, that could explain why your amount is fluctuating CalWORKs calculates benefits based on your family size and income, so sometimes even small changes can adjust your payment. If you're consistently seeing unexplained changes, ask your worker for a full payment calculation breakdown so you understand exactly how your grant is determined.

THEY DO THIS TO ME EVERY MONTH!!! My amount changed 3 times in the last 6 months with ZERO notice. I'm convinced they do it on purpose to confuse us and hope we don't notice when they take money away. One time they lowered mine by $137 and when I finally got through to ask why, they said it was because my "income was reported differently" but I literally reported THE EXACT SAME INCOME on my SAR7. The whole system is designed to be confusing!!

I used to have this same problem until I found Claimyr. It's this service that calls the county for you and then connects you when a real person answers. I was skeptical but it actually worked and I got through to my worker in like 20 minutes instead of spending hours on hold. I used it last month when my CalWORKs amount suddenly dropped and found out they counted my overtime hours twice by mistake. They fixed it right away once I actually got to talk to someone. You can check it out at claimyr.com - they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE

It works for all California counties as far as I know. I'm in San Bernardino which is right next to you and it worked fine. They basically just wait on hold for you so you don't have to sit there with your phone for hours.

Have you checked if you're at your Income Reporting Threshold (IRT)? That's the max income you can earn before you have to report it mid-period. If you went over even by a little bit and didn't report it, they can lower your cash aid. Check the top of your last approval letter - it should list your IRT amount. Even a small raise or extra hours could put you over without realizing it.

Your child starting kindergarten shouldn't affect your CalWORKs amount. The grant is based on family size and income, not school status. However, if you were also receiving childcare assistance through CalWORKs and now need fewer hours of coverage, that's a separate benefit that could change. One other possibility - did you receive any child support recently? CalWORKs deducts child support from your grant (though you should get the first $100 for one child or $200 for two or more children without it affecting your grant). Your best bet is still to contact your worker for a detailed explanation. Ask specifically for your "Assistance Unit's Maximum Aid Payment" and any deductions they're applying.

After you figure this out, make sure to request a "Benefit Verification Letter" that shows your exact benefit amount. You can keep this as proof for future reference. Also, if you find out there was a mistake and they owe you money, make sure to ask for retroactive payments to cover any months they underpaid you. They won't automatically offer this!