Waiting 26 weeks on my first unemployment payment - any advice?

I was laid off as a teaching assistant and filed right away, and I have been certifying every week. Thank you in advance. The page shows my claim as open but no payment date. Is there a step I could have missed?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 12 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.