Will CalWORKs benefits arrive on time if SAR 7 was just processed? Need cash for son's birthday & broken fridge

If your worker told you everything was completed (meaning they processed your SAR 7) then your benefits SHOULD be available on your regular issuance date. The 'pending' status doesn't always update correctly in BenefitsCal - the system is really glitchy. When did you submit your SAR 7? As long as it was before the deadline and they verified they have all the info they need, you should be fine for Saturday.

I submitted it late last month but there was a problem with my income verification so they kept asking for more info. the worker finally confirmed yesterday they had everything. But I'm so stressed because I promised my son we'd get a cake and I need a fridge ASAP.

Your gonna be fine, same thing happened 2 me last reporting period. BenefitsCal is trash and barely updates right. If your worker told u its done then its done, the computer system just takes time to catch up. I got my cash on the normal day even tho the website never changed from 'active' to 'pending' back to 'active

omg thank u that makes me feel better. u think theres any way to check 100% for sure? i really cant mess up my kids bday after promising him

You can actually call the EBT customer service line at 1-877-328-9677 the night before (Friday night) after 11pm and it will tell you if any deposits are pending for the next day. That's the most reliable way to confirm if your Cash Aid will be there Saturday morning. Also, just an FYI - make sure you're tracking your income carefully during these next 6 months. If your income goes above the Income Reporting Threshold (IRT) at any point, you have to report it within 10 days or you could get an overpayment notice later.

Thank you!!! I didn't know about calling EBT at night to check. Definitely gonna do that Friday. And yeah I'm super careful about reporting now because I got hit with an overpayment once before and it was a nightmare to deal with.

i hate how stressful this always is!!! the system is designed to make us panic every month i swear. my worker told me once that as long as they finish processing before the \

No they didn't mention any cutoff date! Now I'm worried again... the worker just said \

When I was having problems getting through to my worker about my SAR 7 last year, I used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person at the county office in like 20 minutes instead of me calling for days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwEYou might want to try that tomorrow morning just to confirm 100% that everything is set for your Saturday payment, especially with your son's birthday and fridge situation. I was skeptical at first but it saved me when I was in a similar panic about whether my benefits would come through on time.

Does that actually work? I spend literal HOURS every month trying to get someone on the phone. might be worth it just for my sanity lol

Yeah it actually works! I was calling for 2 days straight before I tried it. Got through in about 25 minutes and the worker was able to confirm my payment status right away. Huge relief when you're stressed about whether money is coming or not.

This SAR 7 process is RIDICULOUS every single time!!! I've been on CalWORKs for 3 years and the county ALWAYS makes it so stressful. Even when you submit everything perfectly they find some reason to ask for more paperwork. And the BenefitsCal website is TRASH - half the time it doesn't update correctly. Last month it said my case was discontinued even though I had just been approved for another 6 months! When I finally got through to my worker they said \

facts!!! 💯 the whole system needs to be rebuilt from scratch. i get so much anxiety every reporting period its not even funny

Just wanted to add - since you mentioned your fridge broke, if you're really in a tight spot, you might qualify for the CalWORKs Immediate Need payment. It's for emergency situations, and a broken refrigerator might qualify, especially with a child in the home. You'd need to request it specifically though, they won't offer it automatically. Might be worth asking about if your regular payment is delayed for some reason.

Wait really? I didn't know CalWORKs had emergency payments for things like broken fridges. How much do they usually give for Immediate Need? And do I just call and ask for it?

It's up to the maximum aid payment for your family size, depending on your situation. You have to specifically request an

UPDATE: Just in case anyone else finds this thread later - my benefits DID come through on time! Called the EBT line Friday night like someone suggested and it showed the pending deposit. Money was on my card Saturday morning. Got my son a cake and we're using a neighbor's extra mini fridge until I can get a new one. Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. The system is stressful but at least it worked out this time.

so glad it worked out for you!! happy birthday to your little one! 🎂

That's great news! Thanks for updating the thread - it's helpful for others to see these situations resolved. For future reference, try to submit your SAR 7 by the 5th of your SAR month (even though technically due by the 11th) to avoid this stress next time. The earlier you submit, the more time there is to fix any issues.

This is such a relief to read your update! I'm actually going through something similar right now - my SAR 7 got processed last week but I'm still worried about my payment coming through on time. Your post gave me hope that even when the BenefitsCal system doesn't update properly, the benefits can still arrive as scheduled. Definitely going to use that EBT phone tip to check Friday night. So happy your son got his birthday celebration! The stress of waiting for benefits when you have urgent needs is absolutely awful, but it sounds like you handled it perfectly.

I've been through this exact same panic multiple times and it's honestly traumatic every month wondering if your benefits will actually show up. The fact that you got through to a worker who confirmed everything was processed is actually a really good sign - they don't usually say that unless it's actually done in the system. I've noticed that BenefitsCal is basically useless for real-time updates, especially during SAR 7 processing periods. The backend systems they use to actually load the money onto cards seem to work independently from what we see on the website. That EBT phone check tip is golden - I use it every month now because it's literally the only reliable way to know for sure. Really hope everything works out for your son's birthday!