Will unpaid child support affect my CalFresh/SNAP benefits amount?
I'm really confused and worried about my benefits... I have a CalFresh/SNAP case open right now and I get $317 each month for me and my two kids. I filed for child support through the county about 8 months ago and the court ordered their father to pay $475/month, but he's barely paying anything. Some months I get like $87, other months nothing at all. Never even close to half of what he's supposed to pay. My question is - will this mess with my SNAP benefits? Can they cut me off or lower my food stamps because child support was ordered but I'm not actually receiving it? My recertification is coming up in a few weeks and I'm worried they'll say I should be getting all this child support money that I'm NOT actually getting. Anyone know how this works?
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Abigail Spencer
No, your CalFresh benefits won't be affected by child support that you're NOT receiving. CalFresh only counts income that actually comes into your household. If you're not receiving the full court-ordered amount (or getting anything at all), then only whatever you actually receive counts. When you do your recertification, just be honest about how much child support you actually get each month. You might need to show bank statements or child support payment records to verify the actual amounts. They shouldn't count the full court-ordered amount if you're not getting it.
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Anita George
•Thank you!! That's a huge relief. I've been stressing about this for weeks. So I should just bring my bank statements to show the random small deposits from DCSS and that'll be enough?
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Logan Chiang
i had the same problem last year my ex was supposed to pay $550 but would only pay like $100 here and there. they only counted what i actually got, not what i was supposed to get. but make sure u tell ur worker that the payments are inconsistant!!
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Anita George
•That's good to know! Did you have to provide any special documentation? Did they average what you got over a few months or just count what you received in the current month?
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Isla Fischer
When I was on CalFresh they made me assign my rights to child support to the county as a condition of getting CalWORKs. Are you on cash aid too or just food stamps? Because the rules are different depending on which programs you're on. If you're on CalWORKs (cash aid) then most of your child support goes to the county to "pay back" your benefits and you only get the first $100 (or $200 if you have 2+ kids).
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Anita George
•I'm only on CalFresh (food stamps), not CalWORKs. I applied for CalWORKs last year but my income was too high because I work part-time. So I don't think I had to assign my rights to child support to the county, at least no one told me that.
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Abigail Spencer
•You're correct. Child support assignment is only required for CalWORKs (cash aid), not for CalFresh. For CalFresh, you keep all child support payments you receive, and only the amount you actually receive counts as income. The person above is confusing the rules between programs.
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Miles Hammonds
You should definitely report ANY child support you DO get during recertification, even if it's way less than court-ordered. They will count what you actually receive as income. If you don't report it, that could be considered fraud. But they can't count money you never actually receive! That would be crazy unfair.
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Ruby Blake
I work with CalFresh cases and can confirm that only child support ACTUALLY RECEIVED counts as income. If the court ordered $475 but you only get $87 sometimes, then only the $87 counts when it comes in. But here's the important part - you should report when you get payments, especially if they're irregular. CalFresh has income reporting thresholds (IRT), and if you suddenly got a big payment that puts you over your IRT, you would need to report it mid-period. For your recertification, bring documentation showing what you've actually received - bank statements, DCSS payment history, etc. The worker needs to see actual payment history, not just the court order.
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Anita George
•Thank you so much for the detailed info! What's an IRT exactly? Is that like a maximum I can earn before they cut my benefits? How do I know what mine is?
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Ruby Blake
•IRT stands for Income Reporting Threshold. It's the amount of monthly income that, if you go over it, you must report to the county within 10 days even if it's not your regular reporting month. Your IRT should be listed on your last approval notice. For CalFresh, it's typically 130% of the Federal Poverty Level for your household size. For a household of 3 in 2025, that's around $3,196 per month in gross income. If your income goes above that threshold, you need to report it.
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Micah Franklin
My caseworker kept mistakenly counting the full amount my ex was SUPPOSED to pay even though I told her repeatedly I wasn't getting it!!! Took 3 months and multiple phone calls to fix! I had to call the county office like 18 times before someone helped me! SO FRUSTRATED with the system sometimes!!
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Ella Harper
•Same thing happened to me! I spent weeks trying to get through to someone who could fix it. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at the county office without waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/jzISHxCPLwE The service connects you with a caseworker and then calls you back when they're on the line. Totally worth it because I was able to get my benefit amount corrected in one call instead of spending weeks trying to reach someone.
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Isla Fischer
u should contact child support services and tell them hes not paying. they can take his tax refunds, suspend his drivers license, even garnish his wages from his job. they have ways to make him pay but u gotta tell them hes not following the order.
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Anita George
•I've talked to my child support caseworker about it. They said they're trying to enforce it but he keeps changing jobs so it's hard to garnish his wages. They did take his tax refund this year but it was only like $200. Just frustrating all around.
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Logan Chiang
wait im confused does snap and calfresh mean the same thing?? i thought they were different programs
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Ruby Blake
•Yes, CalFresh is California's name for the federal SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. They're the same program - food assistance that comes on an EBT card. People often use both terms interchangeably in California.
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Anita George
Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses! I feel much better now knowing that only the child support I actually receive will count toward my CalFresh eligibility. I'll make sure to bring my bank statements and DCSS payment history to my recertification appointment to show exactly what I've been getting (which isn't much!). Really appreciate all the advice, especially about the IRT reporting requirement. I'll check my notice to see what my threshold is, though I doubt I'll ever get enough child support to reach it at this rate.
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Ella Russell
You're so welcome! I'm glad we could help ease your stress about this. It's totally understandable to worry about these things - the system can be confusing and intimidating. You're doing everything right by being prepared with documentation and being honest about what you're actually receiving. Just remember that caseworkers see situations like yours all the time where court-ordered support doesn't match reality. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about the fact that your ex isn't paying what he's supposed to - that's on him, not you. You're working hard to provide for your kids and using the programs as they're intended. Good luck with your recertification!
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