Hey Bruno, congrats on your new baby! 🎊 This is definitely a processing error - your CalWORKs cash aid should have increased automatically just like your CalFresh did. I had the exact same thing happen when my son was born last year. What likely happened is your worker updated one system but missed the other. It's frustratingly common! Here's what worked for me: call RIGHT at 8am when they open (much better chance of getting through), and if that fails, go to the office in person with your birth certificate and EBT statements showing the CalFresh increase as proof. When you get someone, ask them to verify your CalWORKs household size includes your baby and request they recalculate your grant amount immediately. Also make sure they add the $30/month diaper allowance - it should be automatic but nothing seems to be with these county offices! The silver lining is you should get retroactive payments once it's fixed. In my case, it was almost $250 in backpay that showed up within a week of them correcting the mistake. Don't give up mama - you and your little one deserve every benefit you're entitled to! Keep us posted on how it goes! 💪

Congratulations on your new baby! 🍼 This is definitely not normal and sounds like a processing error. Your CalWORKs cash aid should have automatically increased when you added your newborn, just like your CalFresh did. I'm a caseworker and see this happen unfortunately often - usually what occurs is the worker updates one system but forgets to process the household size change for the other program. Sometimes different staff handle CalFresh vs CalWORKs updates and things fall through the cracks. Here's what you should do: Call first thing at 8am when the office opens for your best chance of getting through. If you can't reach anyone by phone, go to the office in person with your birth certificate and your EBT card/statements showing the CalFresh increase as proof that they partially processed your case. When you speak with someone, specifically ask them to: 1. Verify your CalWORKs household size includes your newborn 2. Recalculate your grant amount based on the correct household size 3. Apply the $30/month diaper allowance (should be automatic for kids under 3) 4. Process any retroactive payments you're owed Don't let them brush you off - this should have been automatic and you deserve the full benefits you're eligible for. The retroactive payments should cover any months they missed since you reported the birth. Keep pushing until it's fixed!

Good news! Just got both my February and March transportation payments today on my EBT card! Check yours if you haven't already - looks like they're fixing the issue now.

I'm so glad I found this thread! I'm also missing my February transportation payment and was starting to panic. I'm in Orange County and my WTW worker finally called me back today after I left multiple messages. She confirmed it's the same system issue affecting multiple counties. She said they're processing the back payments in waves and mine should show up by Friday. In the meantime, she told me to keep all my receipts for any transportation costs I had to pay out of pocket - gas, bus passes, etc. - and they can potentially reimburse those too. It's frustrating but at least now I know it's not just me and there's an actual fix coming. Hang in there everyone!

Welcome to CalWORKs, Carlos! I'm new here too and just got my approval last month. Reading through all these responses has been super helpful - I had no idea about some of this stuff like the 48-month clock and Earned Income Disregard. I'm still waiting for my WTW orientation notice (it's been 2.5 weeks since approval) and getting pretty anxious about it. Does anyone know if there's a way to check on the status or if we can call to ask when it's coming? I keep checking my mail every day and worry I might have missed something important. Also curious about the childcare application process - do we apply at the orientation or should we try to get that started beforehand? I have a 4-year-old and really need to get this figured out before any mandatory activities start. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is already helping me feel less overwhelmed about the whole process!

Hey Carlos! Congrats on getting approved - that's a huge step! I'm actually in a similar situation and just wanted to share what I've learned from my experience. I got my WTW orientation notice exactly 18 days after my CalWORKs approval, and the orientation was scheduled for about 2 weeks from the date of the notice. One thing that really helped me was calling ahead to ask about the childcare application process. I was able to get some of the paperwork started before my orientation, which sped things up a lot. Also, since you already have part-time work, make sure to bring recent paystubs to your orientation - they'll use that to calculate how many additional hours you need. The WTW worker will work with you to create a plan that fits your schedule around your existing job. In my case, they were pretty flexible about timing activities around my work hours. The key is just showing up to everything they schedule and communicating if you have any conflicts. Don't stress too much about the timeline - you'll have at least a few weeks from when you get the notice to when orientation happens, so there's time to arrange childcare. And like others mentioned, definitely ask about all the assistance programs available. Good luck!

That's great news that it worked out! Just wanted to add for anyone else reading this - if you ever have issues with Bank of America tellers not knowing about EBT Cash Aid withdrawals, you can ask to speak with a supervisor or show them that it's specifically mentioned in their EBT program guidelines. I've had a couple newer tellers who weren't familiar with the process, but once they checked with someone more experienced it was no problem. Also, keep your receipt from the teller withdrawal just like you would with an ATM transaction - it shows the withdrawal amount and remaining balance which is helpful for budgeting.

Welcome to CalWORKs and glad you found this thread helpful! Just wanted to add another tip - if you're ever in a situation where you need cash urgently but Bank of America branches are closed, you can also get cash back at many grocery stores when you buy something with your EBT card. Places like Safeway, Walmart, and some CVS locations let you get cash back from your Cash Aid account when you make a purchase. It's usually limited to like $50-100 depending on the store, but it's free and can be a lifesaver on weekends or after banking hours. The key is to make sure you're selecting "Cash" not "Food" when they ask which account to use at checkout.

This is a really good thread with lots of helpful info! I'm new to CalWORKs and had no idea about the "excluded member" rule before reading this. It actually makes sense when you think about it - they're trying to help as many family members as possible rather than denying the whole family. One thing I wanted to add is that you should also make sure your worker is using the most current income limits. The limits did increase at the beginning of 2025, so if your case was processed using old limits, you might want to ask for a redetermination. Also, if your income changes (like if you get a raise or your hours get cut), make sure to report it because it could affect whether you're excluded or not. It sounds like you're asking all the right questions though - definitely get that income calculation worksheet and double-check their math!

I'm new to this community but this discussion has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently going through the CalWORKs application process and was totally confused when my caseworker mentioned something about "assistance units" and excluding family members. Reading everyone's experiences here makes so much more sense than the brief explanation I got at the office. I wanted to ask - for those who have been through this excluded member situation, how long did it take for your benefits to actually start once they figured out the correct calculation? My worker said it could take a few weeks but I'm hoping it's faster than that since we really need the help. Also, does anyone know if being excluded from CalWORKs affects eligibility for emergency assistance programs? We might need help with utilities while we're waiting for the regular benefits to kick in. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories and advice - this community is amazing for getting real information that actually makes sense!