[Lillitu]

I just spent the whole day at social services applying for medi-cal, foodstamps and CALworks.<br><br>
As part of the intake, they asked for my son's vax records. I told them he doesn;t have any, as I am reading up on them and deciding if I want to do them and when. I told them he had his 2 month pedi visit and she was fine with that (this pedi, btw, takes Medi-cal, but I saw her when we had private insurance).<br><br>
They asked if we are not vaxing for "religious reasons" and I should have said yes, but instead I was honest.I told them I was worried about the side effects and if they were prudent to give a child under one.<br><br>
My intake worker said she would talk to a supervisor, but it may be that the state will require me to get him vaxxed to get benefits...<br><br>
Anyone have experience with this? Can anyone offer advice? I really don't wanna vax yet, if at all... but we need help!

 

[Adallae]

No personal experience with social services....but CA is one of a few states that allows a philosophical exemption for vaxes. So if they would accept not vaxing for religious reason, wouldn't they have to except not vaxing for philosophical reasons?

 

[rredhead]

That's BS.<br><br>
California allows a philosophical objection to vaccines. Even so, that only matters when the child goes to school. The state cannot withhold benefits from you for not following the recommended vaccination schedule.<br><br>
Here's a thread that might help:<br><a href="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=7641657#post7641657" target="_blank">http://www.mothering.com/discussions...57#post7641657</a><br><br>
Good luck!

 

[EVC]

My dd is on Medi-Cal and is unvax'ed. The only problems we've had is finding a doctor who accepts Medi-Cal and is open-minded to non-vax patients.<br><br>
But they can not disqualify you for that and it's none of their business WHY you have chosen not to vaccinate.

 

[Avani]

Just say you choose not to vax, you don't need to elaborate and ask for a vaccination exemption form. That's it.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I live in CA and I've applied for Medi-cal three different times and have had two kids while on it. I've also received food stamps, SSI, SDI, WIC, and medicare with no mention at ll of vaccines. Not once did mine or my kid's vax status come up. You shouldn't need an exemption, those are for school. The vax status of your child has nothing to do with whether or not you qualify for benefits.<br><br>
Now finding a medi-cal doctor who is ok with not vaxing your kids can be the hard part. But I find that the older and meaner (more confident maybe?) I get, the less I get any hassles from doctors. They rarely give me any grief about my decision anymore(even new/different doctors like in the ER). So maybe a lot of that has to do with attitude.

 

[sparklefairy]

I think it might be the CAL-works, not the medi-cal. When I read on this for my state, it said that philosophical exemptions were NOT acceptable because it was a federal program. I could be completely wrong, of course.

 

[Lillitu]

Thanks, everyone. Still waiting to hear if we qualify (keep your fingers crossed for us!), but will fight for my son!

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I was forced to apply for CalWorks once, my husband too (separate times). Vaccines weren't even brought up. Maybe it varies by county?<br><br>
Good luck OP. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[basje]

I'm in the same county and applied for CAL-works in January. I signed an affidavit that vaxing is against my personal beliefs. They had a little affidavit paper in office which is blank, when I met with my worker. They cannot deny you benefits because you don't vax. [FYI neither can WIC]<br><br>
If you have problems you can consult with legal aid (there offices are downtown oakland, near 17th street bus stop). And ask for a hearing. In my experince as soon as a hearing is requestion the county get's their butt in gear. I think you'll find, that is more that the workers don't really know a lot about the rules nor do they come across many families who are crunchy. I had a heck of a time trying to explain to my cal-works worker that there was not hospital record, or midwife record because I had a UC. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile"> Good luck.<br><br>
You might want to check out <a href="http://www.foodstampguide.org" target="_blank">www.foodstampguide.org</a> and <a href="http://alamedasocialservices.org/public/community/ac_hire/" target="_blank">http://alamedasocialservices.org/pub...unity/ac_hire/</a><br><br>
ALSO <a href="http://www.ladpss.org/dpss/calworks/eligibility.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.ladpss.org/dpss/calworks/eligibility.cfm</a><br><br>
The end of this page talks about vax's

 

[p1nk_06]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>EVC</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15459099"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">My dd is on Medi-Cal and is unvax'ed. The only problems we've had is finding a doctor who accepts Medi-Cal and is open-minded to non-vax patients.<br><br>
But they can not disqualify you for that and it's none of their business WHY you have chosen not to vaccinate.</div>
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I live in the bay area and attend an office that excepts Medi-Cal and is open to unvaxed patients. The practice is in Hayward and the doctors name is Dr. Rajaram. She may ask why you don't want to, I just told her with the research we have done we didn't want to and she said ok. Hope that helps!

 

[luv-my-boys]

its obvious that this cw dosent know the *language of the law* per say, I would just call the health dept and ask for the blue vacciantion form (one side has room to fill in vaccs and the other side is the exemption you sign) I would sign that and hand it to the cw (even though since your child isnt school aged they dont need to sometimes its just easier to stump them, they'd probably jsut accept it since its an official state document.

 

[sioleabha]

I don't live in California, but... I have a religious / philosophical belief that God has given my children to *me* (and my husband), and that we alone have been entrusted with the solemn responsibility to do what is best for our children at all times, no matter what anyone else thinks. Because we're Christians, we first seek advice from the Bible and the church, but since neither has an official stance on vaccinations, we rely on prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.<br><br>
As far as I am concerned, as long as our prayers and the Holy Spirit lead us to research that suggests not vaccinating, selectively vaccinating, or delaying vaccinating is best, that's a religious belief that I must do so. I also have the advantage that my religion teaches that I should obey my husband, and he does not feel that vaccinating babies is a good idea. I honestly don't see this as a "cop out," because it's a very sincerely and deeply held belief and is genuinely how all of my parenting decisions are made.<br><br>
Maybe you have a similar religious or philosophical belief? For example, perhaps you have a philosophical belief that your parenting decisions must all be evidenced-based, and therefore you cannot vaccinate unless the evidence supports it?

 

[Lillitu]

While we don't have a religion that prohibits vaccinations like Christian Science, I ended up writing a letter explaining my objections to vaccines in a theological context and asked for a religious exemption. It passed.<br><br>
What irks me is this means that religious people (of which I am one, make no mistake) have more rights then than atheists when it comes to this issue. I am sure there are plenty of atheist or agnostic people that have perfectly valid reasons not to vaccinate. But their opinions count in this case.

 

[PiesandAbrosmama]

In Kentucky, where I gave birth t two of my babes, they only have medical and religious. I too feel that's it's discrimination to those that have philosophical view points. I also crafted a letter, much as you describe, for my children in school.<br>
Glad you passed though<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up">

 

[littlest birds]

Actually atheists have had their rights held up by the Supreme Court as protected under freedom of religion. "Personal" belief systems of all sorts also count. Otherwise it's religious discrimination. They all have the same legal rights as the religious. I found a lot of info on this years ago when I was researching. My understanding is that with little or no tweaking, the same beliefs that constitute a philosophical exemption can always constitute a religious one as well. It's just convention to see them as different in a way. Fortunately I'm fine with God talk in my philosophy and sciencey stuff in my religion.<br><br>
Anyhow, you don't have to belong to a church or explain your beliefs. (I did a little explaining too on the original exemption paper but never discuss it for day care or schools or anyone like that.) IME they are very careful not to ask questions about religious matters because they could easily get in trouble for questioning a client about religious subjects. As a government organization it's a no-no to go there and most of them know it.<br><br>
You should just fill out whatever your state requires. This can be used in ALL situations when vax records are requested so once done you have a form for every situation.

 

[Dmitrizmom]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>littlest birds</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/15552600"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Fortunately I'm fine with God talk in my philosophy and sciencey stuff in my religion.</div>
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I love this! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up">