Abstract
Welfare reform and the subsequent reauthorization made a number of changes to the federalp rogram, emphasized work participationfo r recipients and establisheda minimum state participation requirement. The California Department of Social Services must publish no fewer than quarterly work participation reports. These reports serve as indicators of employment program effectiveness. This analysis evaluates the effectiveness of the methods and data used to develop the work participation reports. Collectively, the four published reports provide some insight into the work participation status of Cal WORKs participants, but there is still no single report that provides an accurate and timely "snapshot" of the activities and level of engagement of California's public assistance recipients. I recommend that CDSS and the counties continue their efforts to develop a statewide engagement report or a similar publication to assess employment services program effectiveness and measure progress toward program goals.