University of California Transportation Center

Implementing the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in Los Angeles is a difficult task in part because of the size and diversity of the problem. Los Angeles County -- the unit of government responsible for administering welfare programs -- is one of the largest counties in the country spreading across 4,083 square miles. The Los Angeles County is so large that it comprises its own metropolitan area. The County includes neighborhoods that are both highly urbanized as well as rural, areas of great affluence and areas of concentrated poverty, and neighborhoods that are racially and ethnically diverse.