Will adding husband back to CalWORKs case increase benefits & get backpay for past 2 months?

girl u need to report this ASAP!! if u dont tehy can hit u with an overpayment and fraud charges if they find out hes been living there. doesnt matter if benefits go up or down u gotta tell them within 10 days when someone moves in!!!

To answer your question directly: Adding your husband back will likely NOT increase your benefits, and could actually decrease them depending on his income. CalWORKs calculates benefits based on your entire household income, so his earnings will count against your grant amount. The $18/hr at 25 hours is approximately $1,950/month gross income, which will definitely impact your cash grant. Regarding backpay - no, you won't receive backpay. In fact, you might end up with an overpayment that you'll need to repay for the months he was in the household but not reported. CalWORKs requires reporting changes in household composition within 10 days (this is called a 'mid-period report' for any change that affects eligibility). I recommend reporting the change immediately to avoid potential overpayment issues. When you report, bring verification of his income and his return date to the household.

Same thing happened with me and my kids' dad. When I added him back our cash aid went DOWN by like $320 because of his income, but our CalFresh went up a little bit. Depends on exactly how much he makes. Definitely won't get backpay tho - they'll probably say you owe them money for not reporting sooner!

You need to report this change immediately. CalWORKs has specific rules about household composition changes: 1. You must report someone moving into your home within 10 days if it affects your eligibility or benefit amount (which your husband's return definitely does) 2. The county will recalculate your benefits based on total household income 3. You won't receive any "backpay" - instead, you may owe an overpayment for benefits you weren't eligible for during the unreported months 4. If you report voluntarily now, you're less likely to face potential fraud allegations than if they discover it through other means With his income at approximately $1,950/month, your cash grant will likely decrease significantly. However, every situation is different depending on exact income, deductions, and family size. The county worker will need to calculate the precise impact.

Trying to reach someone at the county to report changes is THE WORST. Spent 3 hours on hold last week trying to update my address and got disconnected twice! Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got a callback from a worker in like 15 minutes. They have this video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE Definitely report the change ASAP because not reporting household changes is considered fraud. Even if you have to wait on hold forever, it's better than dealing with an overpayment or worse.

I'm so confused by all the CalWORKs rules about reporting!!! On my SAR7 it says report within 10 days but my worker told me some changes can wait until the SAR7????? Which is it? And does anyone know the Income Reporting Threshold for a family of 3? Is it different than family of 2? This is all so complicated I feel like they make it confusing on purpose.

To calculate the potential impact: A non-exempt family of 3 in California for 2025 has a maximum aid payment of approximately $1,037. Your husband's income of $1,950/month would be subject to the earned income disregard (the first $450 doesn't count, then 50% of the remainder is counted). So: $1,950 - $450 = $1,500 $1,500 × 0.5 = $750 (countable income) $1,037 - $750 = $287 (approximate new grant amount) This is just an estimate and your actual amount may differ based on your region and other factors. But you can see why reporting promptly is important - the difference in benefits could be substantial.

ur gonna get less $ for sure. system punishes u when someone works. my sister added her bf back and lost half her cash aid. they dont care if u cant pay rent. smh

I went through something similar when my boyfriend moved back in after we worked things out. The advice here is spot on - you really need to report this ASAP. I waited about 6 weeks to report and ended up owing back $450 in overpayments. The county worker was actually pretty understanding when I explained we had just reconciled, but they still had to follow the rules. One thing that helped me was gathering all the paperwork before I called - his pay stubs, proof of when he moved back in (I used our lease amendment), and his work schedule. Having everything ready made the appointment go much smoother. Also, ask your worker about the Transitional CalFresh benefits - sometimes when your cash aid goes down, you might qualify for other help to ease the transition. Good luck and don't stress too much about it. You're doing the right thing by reporting it, even if it means less money. At least you'll know exactly where you stand financially.

I'm new to CalWORKs and this thread is SO helpful! I had no idea about the 10-day reporting rule or how they calculate income. Can someone clarify - when they say "within 10 days," does that mean 10 calendar days or 10 business days? And if I can't get through to my worker by phone, can I report changes by email or do I need to go to the office in person? I'm trying to understand all my options in case I ever need to report a change quickly. Thanks everyone for being so informative!

I'm going through a similar situation right now and wanted to share what I learned from my county worker. When you report the change, ask specifically about the "good cause" provision - sometimes they can waive overpayment collections if you can show the delay in reporting was due to circumstances beyond your control (like reconciling with your spouse and needing time to figure things out). It's not guaranteed, but worth asking about. Also, one thing I didn't see mentioned - make sure to ask about any work-related deductions your husband might qualify for. Things like transportation costs to/from work, work clothes, union dues, etc. can sometimes be deducted from his countable income, which could help reduce the impact on your benefits a little bit. Definitely don't wait any longer though - the overpayment amount just gets bigger each month you don't report. Good luck with everything!