Community Service
COMMUNITY SERVICE AT L.A. WORKS
In an effort to support Los Angeles county residents with specialized volunteer and community service requirements, L.A. Works is here to help guide you to volunteer opportunities assisting our communities.
Sections:
CalFresh (SNAP) Community Service Volunteering
Starting June 1, 2026, the federal government’s rules on CalFresh work and community engagement requirements changed in California. This means that some CalFresh recipients will be categorized as "Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents” (ABAWD). These recipients will be required by the federal government to meet certain requirements to keep their CalFresh benefits. Newly enrolling individuals and recertifying individuals will be notified of their requirements to complete work, training or community service during their application process.
If you are required to meet the CalFresh work and community service requirements to keep your CalFresh benefits beyond three months, the good news is that you can volunteer through L.A. Works! By becoming an L.A. Works volunteer, you will be able to sign up for volunteer opportunities with our many nonprofit partners across Los Angeles County and track your service hours. We also have special featured opportunities for CalFresh program recipients doing community service. Click the button below to explore those opportunities.
When you create a volunteer account with L.A. Works, you will be able to select “Sign Up”volunteer opportunities. Within your account you will also have a personal service page of your attended, confirmed service to print out for your benefits reporting.
Court Ordered Community Service Volunteering
Individuals who have been referred by the court or a judge to complete community service volunteer hours must first be registered with an agency BEFORE volunteering. Please contact the court where you were sentenced by visiting https://www.lacourt.ca.gov if you need to find contact information for the court which sentenced you to court ordered community service.
Signing up for a volunteer shift without being assigned by a referral agency may not be eligible be toward your court ordered community service volunteer requirements. Do not bring a form for nonprofits to sign off at the end of your volunteer shift unless you were registered to that organization by a referral agency.
Questions?
For Volunteers:
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Questions about your CalFresh requirements, please visit: https://cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/calfresh/abawd
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Questions about service hours: In the event that the organization you volunteer with is not confirming your hours in the L.A. Works system, you may need to directly request confirmation from the organization’s Opportunity Coordinator for the shift(s) you volunteered.
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Questions about your Court Ordered requirements, please visit https://www.lacourt.ca.gov
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Questions about your volunteer service account, please contact info@laworks.com.
Potential Nonprofit Host Sites:
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Nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County are able to host CalFresh recipients needing hours, as well as the opportunity to select volunteer opportunities to be featured for recipients through our system. To reduce your administrative time in confirming hours on an individual basis, the only requirement is that organizations submit attendance for the sign up opportunities. Please contact partners@laworks.com with any questions.
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Nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County interested in hosting volunteers with court-ordered community service requirements should contact South Bay Volunteer Center. Please visit https://volcenter.org/programs-court/ for more information.