Waiting 24 weeks on my first unemployment payment - what worked for you?

I filed my claim 24 weeks ago after being let go as a paralegal. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. I called the state line four times and only reached a recording. Is there a step I could have missed?

When I finally got through, the agent said my employer had responded late. Once that cleared, back pay came in one payment.