How to split CalFresh EBT & Medi-Cal after separation with kids living with ex?

Yes, you can definitely create separate CalFresh and Medi-Cal cases after separating! I went through this last year. Here's what you need to do: 1. Report the household change to your county office ASAP (within 10 days of the separation/children moving) 2. Submit a SAR 3 form (mid-period status report) showing the change in your household composition 3. Ask for your case to be split into two separate cases Your ex-boyfriend will need to apply for his own CalFresh case as the head of household for himself and your two shared children. For Medi-Cal, since the kids are already covered under your case, there will need to be a transfer of their coverage to his case, but there shouldn't be any gap in coverage for them. For your older child with medical needs, their coverage should continue uninterrupted since they're staying with you. Just make sure to clearly explain your child's medical situation when reporting the household change so they prioritize maintaining that coverage.

i just did this 4 months ago. its a MESS trust me. i called for 3 days straight couldnt get thru to anyone. they cut ALL my benifits for like 2 weeks even tho i told them ahead of time my ex was moving out with our kid. ended up having to start all over with new application even tho they said i didnt need to. make sure u save all ur documents!!!!

Make sure you tell them your older child has medical issues! My nephew has diabetus and when my sister split with her boyfriend the county almost dropped his coverage during the switch. Ask specificaly for a "Continuity of Care" note on your case so your child can keep seeing the same doctors during the transition. Good luck!

When I went through something similar, the most important thing was timing everything correctly. You should: 1. First notify your current eligibility worker of the household change 2. Request that they set up your ex-boyfriend with his own case number for him and the two kids 3. Make sure you specify that you want to maintain your own case for yourself and your older child with medical needs 4. Submit updated income information for both households Don't make the mistake I did of just having your ex apply separately before notifying your current worker - it created duplicate cases in the system and caused our benefits to be put on hold while they sorted it out. The system gets confused easily with custody situations. For your older child with medical issues, ask about the "Medical Necessity" coding for their case. This flags them in the system as requiring uninterrupted coverage due to ongoing medical treatment. Your eligibility worker might not mention this unless you specifically ask about it.

The county offices are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with for this stuff!! I tried to split my case when my ex and I separated last year and they kept telling me different things every time. One worker told me I had to close my case completely and reapply, another said just update the household info on my current case. Meanwhile my kids almost lost their Medi-Cal coverage!! The system is designed to make you fail I swear. Make sure you document EVERYTHING. Get names of workers you talk to, reference numbers, and ask for emails confirming what they tell you. Otherwise they'll deny telling you something later. And KEEP CHECKING your BenefitsCal account because sometimes they make changes without notifying you!

Thank you all for the advice! I called my county office this morning and after being on hold for over an hour, I finally spoke with someone. They told me I need to submit the SAR 3 form and provide documentation that my boyfriend and our two children will be living separately from me and my older child. The worker said my ex will need to apply for his own CalFresh case after I report the household change, and they'll transfer the kids' Medi-Cal to his case. I specifically asked about the Continuity of Care for my older son and they added a note to my file. One question - do I need to submit proof of separate addresses? My ex hasn't found a permanent place yet, he's staying with his brother temporarily until he can get his own place. Will this be an issue?

btw dont forget to tell them about child support!!! when me & my ex split they made me fill out child support papers even tho we had 50/50 custody because i was getting calworks too. not sure if its the same for just calfresh but they might ask you about it

make sure u count your income right on the new application!!! when i split from my kids dad last year my foodstamps amount changed a lot because our income was different. if ur keeping the older kid you might get more benefits depending on your income now vs household income before.

I'm going through something similar right now and this thread has been SO helpful! Just wanted to add - if you're worried about the transition period, ask your worker about "bridge benefits." Some counties can provide temporary assistance to make sure there's no gap in coverage while they're processing the household changes. Also, since your older child has serious medical issues, you might want to contact their primary care doctor's billing department to let them know about the potential Medi-Cal changes. Sometimes medical offices can help advocate for continued coverage if there are any issues with the transition. My daughter's specialist actually wrote a letter to our county office when we had coverage problems during a similar situation. One more tip - screenshot or print out your current benefit amounts and coverage details from BenefitsCal before you make any changes. This way you have documentation of what you had before in case something gets messed up and you need to reference it later. Good luck with everything!