Will my CalWORKs Cash Aid decrease after moving in with employed boyfriend + rent is $1850? (Pregnant, due July)

you need to report this asap!!! boyfriend = non-household member but ur required to report address changes within 10 days. they might count some of the rent as income for u since hes paying it. my friend lost her cash aid when she moved in w/ her bf and didnt tell them for 2 months and they made her pay back like $900 bcuz they said it was fraud

Since you're pregnant with his child, this is actually a complicated situation. I'd recommend reporting the change of address immediately, but here's what's likely to happen: 1. Until the baby is born, your boyfriend is considered a "non-household member" since you're not married and don't share a child yet. His income doesn't directly count against your benefits. 2. However, they will look at your household expenses (rent/utilities) and who's paying for them. If your boyfriend pays the rent, they may count some of that as "in-kind income" to you, which could reduce your grant. 3. After the baby is born, if your boyfriend is the father and you're all living together, they will likely consider you an Assistance Unit and his income will be counted. 4. During pregnancy, you may qualify for a pregnancy special need payment of about $47 extra per month if you verify the pregnancy. Make sure when you report this that you're clear about whose names are on the lease, who pays what portion of the bills, and your relationship status.

they always decrease ur money when ur living with someone else. happened to me last year and i was only getting like $220 after. just be careful telling them cuz sometimes they can cut u off completely if they think ur hiding income

Can i just say dealing with CalWORKs when your pregnant is EXHAUSTING!!!! I went thru this last year and spent HOURS trying to get someone on the phone to explain the rules to me. Kept getting disconnected or waiting forever. Finally i found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person in like 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours!! It was at claimyr.com and they have this demo video at https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE that shows how it works. Seriously saved my sanity when i was 8 months pregnant and freaking out about my benefits getting cut.

WHY is the system so confusing???? I'm going through almost the same thing and my worker keeps giving me different answers every time I talk to her! First she said moving in with my kids' dad would lower my grant, then she said it wouldn't affect it until we reported it on the SAR7, THEN she said I needed to report it within 10 days! I swear they make it confusing ON PURPOSE to trip us up so they can say we committed fraud and kick us off benefits. How are we supposed to make good decisions when they won't give straight answers?!?

I went through this exact situation last year. Here's what happened: I was getting $553 for myself and my toddler, then moved in with my boyfriend (who wasn't my child's father) who made about $2800/month. Our rent was $1750. I reported the change within 10 days. They kept me on CalWORKs but reduced my grant to $320 because they counted part of what he paid toward rent as "in-kind income" to me. When I got pregnant with his baby, nothing changed until after the baby was born. Once our shared baby was born, they counted his income for the new baby's portion of benefits but not for me and my older child. The rules are super complicated but in my experience, you should: 1. Report the change right away 2. Be clear about who pays what expenses 3. Ask specifically about "in-kind income" calculations 4. Request a breakdown of how they calculated your new grant amount 5. Make sure they know you're pregnant with his child Good luck! The system is confusing but I managed to keep some benefits during my pregnancy which helped a lot.

my cousin didnt tell calworks when her bf moved in and they found out somehow and she got a fraud letter and had to go to a hearing thing and almost got charged with welfare fraud!!!! they take this stuff super serious

Since you're pregnant, make sure you're also on WIC if you're not already. It won't replace Cash Aid, but it provides nutritional support during pregnancy and after baby arrives. Also look into the Pregnancy Special Needs payment through CalWORKs which gives you a small additional amount each month while pregnant. After reporting your change in living situation, if your benefits are reduced significantly, ask your worker about what will happen after the baby arrives. Once the baby is born, you'll need to provide verification (birth certificate, hospital documents) to add the child to your case within 10 days. At that point, the situation changes again because you and your boyfriend will share a child, which affects how they consider your household composition.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I went through something similar when I was expecting my second child. Here's what I learned from my experience: You definitely need to report the address change within 10 days - that's a firm requirement regardless of how it affects your benefits. When you call, be very specific about your living arrangement. Tell them: - You're pregnant with your boyfriend's child (due July) - Who's on the lease - Exactly how much each of you pays toward rent/utilities - That you're not married Since you're pregnant with his child, they may treat this differently than if you were just roommates. Ask specifically about: 1. The Pregnancy Special Needs payment ($47/month) 2. How they'll calculate any "in-kind income" from shared housing costs 3. What happens to your case after the baby is born One tip: if possible, try to contribute something toward the rent from your Cash Aid (even if it's just $50-100) and document it. This shows you're using your benefits for housing costs, which can sometimes work in your favor during their calculations. The rules change again once baby arrives since you'll share a child together, so ask them to explain both scenarios. Getting everything in writing helps too - workers sometimes give different info and having documentation protects you. Good luck mama! The system is confusing but being proactive and honest is always the best approach.