CalWORKs

There are many reasons the county might say you were overpaid CalWORKs. Some of these reasons could be that your income is too high, you have too much property, you have someone living with you that you did not tell the county about, you did not turn in paperwork to the county, or the county may have made a mistake calculating your benefits.

The county must give you a written notice telling you that your CalWORKs will stop and why. If you think the county is wrong, you can appeal and have your case heard by an independent hearing officer.

If you think you were overpaid because of a mistake made by the county, you may not have to repay benefits if you cannot afford to do so. You have 90 days from the date of the written notice to appeal your case. If you have a very good reason for appealing late, you can appeal up to 180 days after the date of the written notice.  If your notice does not meet legal requirements, such as not giving a reason or not being in your primary language, you can appeal even after that.

Once you appeal, there will be a hearing scheduled for you to explain why you think you were not overpaid or why it was the county’s fault and for a hearing officer to decide if the county is right or wrong. If the hearing officer decides you are right, the hearing Officer can say you do not need to repay benefits or can tell the county to re-calculate the benefits you should have received.

Download our CalWORKS overpayment fact sheet

Download our State Hearings Tips fact sheet

More info: Look on the back of the written notice for instructions about how to appeal.  You can also appeal online at the State Hearings Division.