Will CalWORKs make my kids' father pay child support even if he's living with us?

Yes, they most likely will require child support cooperation unless you qualify for an exception. When you apply for CalWORKs, you're automatically required to cooperate with child support enforcement (it's called the LCSA - Local Child Support Agency). This means you have to provide information about the father and they'll open a child support case even if you're living together. It's one of the requirements for getting Cash Aid unfortunately.

theres a thing called good cause exemption. tell them ur afraid of him or somethin lol. thats wat i did with my ex cause i didnt want no drama and they let me get cash aid without child support stuff. just gotta fill out a form

You could try applying as a family unit instead of just for yourself and the kids. If you include him on your CalWORKs application as part of your household (like you did with CalFresh), they would calculate benefits based on all of your income combined. This is different than applying as a single parent household where they'd pursue child support. Worth asking about this option specifically when you apply.

This is an important question that comes up often. For CalWORKs, if the father of your children lives with you and you include him in your application as part of your assistance unit (AU), then child support enforcement would not be pursued against him. However, this means: 1. His income will count toward the family's total income 2. He would have to meet Welfare to Work requirements unless exempt 3. His resources (like savings, vehicles, etc.) would count toward resource limits If his income is too high, you might not qualify for CalWORKs as a family. But if you apply without including him, then yes, they would pursue child support even if you live together - unless you have an approved good cause exemption.

For Welfare to Work requirements, all non-exempt adults in the assistance unit typically need to participate in work activities for 30-35 hours per week (depending on family circumstances). These activities can include: - Employment - Job search - Job training programs - Education related to employment - Community service Since he's already working part-time, those hours would count toward his WTW requirement, and he'd just need to make up the difference with other approved activities. There are some exemptions, like if someone is disabled, caring for a young child under 24 months, or has other qualifying circumstances.

The child support thing with CalWORKs is SO FRUSTRATING!! I was in this EXACT situation last year. Me and my kids' dad lived together but weren't married, and I needed Cash Aid temporarily when he got laid off. I didn't include him on my application (big mistake) and they automatically referred me to child support services! It created this whole MESS where they wanted to collect from him even though we were LITERALLY LIVING TOGETHER and he was already supporting us as much as he could!!! The county workers gave me different information every time I called - some said I could cancel it, others said I couldn't. SUCH a headache.

Yeah, I eventually got it fixed but it took FOREVER. I had to go in person multiple times. What finally worked was submitting proof we lived together (lease with both our names, utility bills, etc.) and having him come with me to sign paperwork to be added to my case. They recalculated our benefits based on his income. The amount went down but at least they stopped the child support nonsense. My advice is to be SUPER clear from the beginning about your living situation.

I've seen this issue come up a lot when people try calling the county offices. They rarely give clear answers about these situations, and you can waste hours on hold just to get disconnected. After my frustrating experience trying to resolve a similar issue, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real CalWORKs worker in about 10 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE I'd recommend using something like this to get a definitive answer about your specific situation instead of guessing. The worker I spoke with explained exactly how to apply as a family unit and avoid the child support issue completely.

u should just say ur not together and hes just ur roomate lol. thats what my friend did and she got cash aid for her and her kid and her bf was still living there but didnt have to pay child support.

ok but am i the only one confused why CalWORKs and CalFresh have different rules for households?? like why does one program care if ur married and the other doesn't?? make it make sense california 🙄

Thank you all for the advice! I've decided to apply with him included in our household since we're genuinely living together as a family. Going to gather our documents and apply online through BenefitsCal. Hopefully his part-time work plus whatever activities they assign won't be too much while also caring for our kids. I'll update after our interview to let everyone know how it goes!

Good luck with your application! Just wanted to add that when you go to your interview, be prepared for them to ask detailed questions about your living arrangement and relationship. They might ask about shared expenses, sleeping arrangements, and how you split household responsibilities. It's all pretty invasive but they need to verify you're truly a household unit. Also, if your boyfriend's income fluctuates (since he's part-time), make sure to report any changes right away - they're really strict about income reporting requirements. Hope everything works out for your family!

Just wanted to share my experience since I went through something similar! I applied for CalWORKs about 6 months ago with my partner included in our household. The process was actually smoother than I expected once I had all the right documents. A few tips: bring multiple forms of proof you live together (we brought our lease, joint bank account statements, and utility bills in both names), and don't be discouraged if the first worker you talk to seems confused about the household rules - I had to explain our situation to three different people before someone really understood. The welfare-to-work requirements weren't as scary as I thought either - since your boyfriend is already working part-time, they'll likely just have him do job search activities or maybe some online training modules to meet the hour requirements. The extra help we got really made a difference for our family, so I hope it works out for you too!

I'm glad to see so many helpful responses here! Just wanted to add one more thing - when you include your boyfriend in your CalWORKs application, make sure you understand that ALL of his income will count, including any unreported cash work or side gigs. The county will verify his employment and may ask for tax returns or 1099s if he does any independent contractor work. I've seen people get surprised by this during their interview when they thought only his "official" job income would count. Also, if he has any assets like a car that's paid off or savings accounts, those will count toward your resource limits too. It's still probably your best option to avoid the child support issue, but just wanted you to be fully prepared for what "household" means to CalWORKs!

Just wanted to add something that might help - when you do your CalWORKs interview, bring a copy of your current CalFresh case information showing your boyfriend is already included as part of your household there. This can help demonstrate to the worker that you've been living together as a family unit and might make the process smoother. I've heard some people say the workers are more receptive when they can see you're already established as a household in another program. Also, if you're breastfeeding your 8-month-old, make sure to mention that during your interview - there are sometimes exemptions or accommodations for nursing mothers that could affect work requirements. Wishing you the best with your application!

One more thing that might be helpful - if you're worried about navigating all the paperwork and requirements, consider asking if your county has a CalWORKs orientation or informational meeting you can attend before applying. Some counties offer these sessions where they explain the different application options, household definitions, and work requirements in detail. It's much easier to ask questions in person than trying to figure everything out on your own. Also, bring your boyfriend with you to the actual application interview if possible - having him there to answer questions directly about his income, work schedule, and commitment to the household can really help establish that you're applying as a genuine family unit. The caseworkers like to see both parents engaged in the process when you're applying together.

I went through this exact situation about a year ago! The key thing to understand is that CalWORKs has what they call "assistance unit" rules that are different from CalFresh household rules. If you include your boyfriend as part of your CalWORKs assistance unit (since he's the father of your children and you live together), they won't pursue child support against him - but his income and resources will count toward your eligibility. The tricky part is that if his income is too high, you might not qualify for cash aid at all. But if you apply without including him, they'll automatically start child support enforcement even though you live together. I'd recommend calling your county's CalWORKs office and specifically asking to speak with someone about "assistance unit composition for unmarried parents living together." Get the information straight from them before you apply so you know exactly what your options are and can make the best decision for your family's situation.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who works with families navigating these systems - you're getting great advice here! One thing I'd add is to make sure you understand the "deprivation" requirements for CalWORKs. Since you're applying as a two-parent household, you'll need to show that your family meets the eligibility criteria for needy families with both parents present (usually this means combined income below certain limits and one parent unemployed/underemployed). Also, keep in mind that including your boyfriend means you'll both be subject to the 60-month lifetime limit for CalWORKs benefits, so it's important to have a plan for becoming self-sufficient. The welfare-to-work program is actually designed to help with this through job training and education opportunities. Don't let people scare you about the work requirements - most counties are pretty reasonable about working with families' schedules, especially when you have young children. Good luck with your application!

I'm really glad you decided to include your boyfriend in the application - that definitely seems like the smartest approach to avoid the child support complications! Just wanted to add that when you're gathering those documents everyone mentioned, don't forget to get a letter from your boyfriend's employer showing his work schedule and hourly wage. Sometimes the pay stubs alone aren't enough and having an official letter can speed up the process. Also, since you mentioned money is tight with formula costs, make sure to ask about the special WIC program during your CalWORKs interview - you might qualify for additional help with formula and baby food that could really stretch your budget. The caseworkers often don't mention WIC automatically but it can be a huge help for families with young kids. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly for you!

I've been following this thread and wanted to add something that might help with your decision - if you're still unsure about including your boyfriend in the CalWORKs application, you could always start by just calling the county office to do a "pre-screening" or eligibility estimate. Many counties will do this over the phone where they'll ask about your household composition and income to give you a rough idea of whether you'd qualify for benefits before you actually submit an application. This way you can find out if his part-time income would make you ineligible anyway, which would help you decide whether it's worth going through the full application process. It might save you time and give you peace of mind about the best approach for your family's situation.

I just want to say how helpful this entire thread has been! I'm not in the exact same situation but I've been considering applying for CalWORKs as a single mom and seeing all the different scenarios and advice here has been really eye-opening. The distinction between assistance units and households is something I never understood before, and all the tips about documentation and what to expect during interviews are invaluable. It's so great to see a community where people actually help each other navigate these complicated systems instead of judging. @CosmicCadet I hope your application goes smoothly - you seem really prepared now with all this advice! And thank you to everyone who shared their experiences, both good and bad. It really helps to know what to expect going into this process.

I'm going through a similar situation right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I just wanted to add that when you include your boyfriend in your CalWORKs application, make sure you both understand that you'll likely need to attend appointments together throughout the process - not just the initial interview. My caseworker required both me and my partner to come in for the eligibility review and when we had to recertify our benefits. It can be a hassle with work schedules but they want to verify that you're genuinely functioning as a household unit. Also, keep really good records of everything - dates you called, who you spoke with, what they told you. The system can be inconsistent and having documentation of conversations has saved me multiple times when workers gave me conflicting information. Best of luck with your application!