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Department of Human Services

SonomaWORKS
County Of Sonoma › Health and Human Services › Human Services › Divisions and Services › Employment and Training › SonomaWORKS
SonomaWORKS

SonomaWORKS

Helping You Support Your Family

SonomaWORKS provides temporary help for families with children who have little or no money. We also help adults caring for a child prepare for a job, then find and keep a job, so they can support their families. 

Support while on the program may include housing, food, utilities payments, childcare or medical care. Monthly cash benefits are added to an ATM-style plastic card, called an Electronic Benefit Transfer or EBT card, which you can use to make purchases.

SonomaWORKS is a Sonoma County program that is also known as CalWORKS in California and Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) by the federal government.

For Pandemic EBT Clients

Applications for the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefit are closed. If you applied before the deadline and need help with or have questions about the status of your case:

If your child was not determined P-EBT eligible and you believe they should have been, you can complete an appeal. Appeals can be submitted online at https://inquiry.pebt.dss.ca.gov/appeal or by calling the P-EBT helpline at 833-780-0353 by August 10, 2020.

Who Is Eligible

  • An adult caring for a child
    • under age 18, OR
    • under age 19 if the child is in high school or vocational school.
  • One or both of the child’s parents must be unemployed, disabled, continuously absent or deceased.
  • You must meet income and resource limits.
  • You may also qualify if you are:
    • pregnant in your second trimester
    • a mother under age 18 
    • a relative caring for a child.

How SonomaWORKS May Help

Going through the program builds your skills toward getting and keeping a job, so that you can support your family into the future.  

During your program, SonomaWORKS staff may:

  • Assess you for types of jobs you might do
  • Help you make a plan to get work and increase your job skills
  • Support you in training for various jobs, including taking classes at Santa Rosa Junior College
  • Help you manage your cash aid, CalFresh benefits and Medi-Cal benefits
  • Provide childcare while you are completing the program
  • Help you get such services as: mental health services, alcohol or other drug services, legal help, learning disability support and/or support for those affected by domestic violence.