Should I use CalFresh benefits after income increase reported on BenefitsCal but worker hasn't called back?

Good job reporting your income change on time! You're actually required to report within 10 days when your income goes over the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT), so you did the right thing. Here's what you should know: 1. Until your worker processes the change and sends you a Notice of Action showing your benefits are reduced/discontinued, you can legally use the benefits that were issued to you 2. If you're now over the income limit, they'll reduce or stop your benefits for the FOLLOWING month, not retroactively 3. Since you properly reported the change, you shouldn't have to pay anything back, even if you're now over-income I would document that you reported the change (screenshot of your BenefitsCal submission) just to be safe. Your CalFresh and Cash Aid might be affected differently since they have different income limits.

be careful with this!!! i made the same mistake last year and ended up with an overpayment notice for $835 because i spent my calfresh after getting a new job. my worker said i should have KNOWN i was over income even tho they never told me! fought it for months and still had to pay it back. the system is rigged against us

It sounds like you did everything right by reporting on BenefitsCal. The problem is getting through to your worker for confirmation. When I needed to reach my CalWORKs worker about an income change last month, I was getting frustrated with the wait times and disconnects. I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get a callback from my worker the same day. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE that shows how it works. It basically holds your place in line and gets the worker to call you back. I was skeptical but it worked and saved me from constantly redialing. Might be worth trying if you need an answer quickly.

Your supposed to wait til they process the change but sometimes it takes FORVER. my worker took 6 weeks to process my income change last summer!!!! what are we supposed to do, starve while we wait for them to do their jobs???

If you reported the change correctly, you should be fine to use the benefits, but it might be good to be cautious if your income went up A LOT. Like if you went from making $1,500 to $5,000 monthly, you're definitely over the limits and they might eventually determine it was an overpayment. But if you're just slightly over, it gets more complicated. For CalWORKs Cash Aid, income limits depend on your household size. For CalFresh, once they process your report, they'll determine if you're still eligible for a reduced amount or if you're completely over income. Curious though - did your BenefitsCal account show any updates or confirmation that your report was received? Sometimes there's a status that shows if it's pending or being processed.

the way it workd for me when i reported income change was they loaded my benefits then sent me a letter 3 weeks later saying i was over income and my benefits would stop next month. i could still use what was on my card no problem. just make sure u save some of ur new job money in case they do stop ur benefits so u dont get caught with no food money

There's a legal concept called "recipient error without fault" that applies here. If you properly reported the change and they still issued benefits, you shouldn't be responsible for an overpayment. Your report should be timestamped in their system. However, the issue here is that your CalWORKs Cash Aid will likely change as well, and that has different rules than CalFresh. With your new income level, it's crucial to get confirmation from your worker about BOTH programs. I recommend calling the county office and explaining that you reported an income change 2 weeks ago and need to know if you're still eligible. Be persistent - workers have large caseloads and sometimes reports sit in their queue for weeks.

wait i thought we were talking about calfresh why are u bringing up cash aid? are they the same thing? im so confused by all this benefit stuff lol

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to share what happened with me. I reported an income increase through BenefitsCal about a month ago and was worried about the same thing. My worker finally called me back after 3 weeks and explained that as long as you report timely (within 10 days of going over your Income Reporting Threshold), you can use any benefits that were already loaded onto your card without worry about overpayments. The key thing is that income changes affect the NEXT month's benefits, not the current month. So if you reported properly and got benefits loaded after that, those are yours to use. Your worker will send you a Notice of Action letter when they process the change - that's when you'll know officially if your benefits are stopping or being reduced. With your income doubling to $3,800 for a household of 3, you're likely over the limit for CalWORKs Cash Aid but might still qualify for some CalFresh depending on your exact circumstances. Don't stress about using what's already on your card - you did everything right by reporting quickly!