ABSTRACT
Sonoma County’s welfare-to-work program (SonomaWORKS) opened its doors to the public on February 2, 1998, based on the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act (Assembly Bill 1542). The new welfare-to-work program is designed to assist CalWORKs recipients in transitioning as rapidly as possible from dependency on public assistance to self-sufficiency through unsubsidized employment. Under the CalWORKs program, adult recipients who are not exempt are required to meet work requirements by participating in welfare-to-work activities in order to maintain their eligibility for cash assistance. The current work requirement in Sonoma County is thirty-two hours of weekly participation, which may be met through a variety of activities.
