This paper explores the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 on the work training being provided to welfare recipients by community colleges. This bill changed the approach for addressing poverty from a human capital perspective, which emphasizes the need for training and education to achieve self-sufficiency, to a "work first" conception, which stresses immediate employment as the path to self-sufficiency. The authors conducted interviews with state officials administering community colleges who were involved with welfare reform; observed exemplary local programs over a period of 2 years to see what effective efforts looked like; and drew on a survey of ten states in the process of reforming their workforce development systems. Among their findings were the following: (1) the role for community colleges in welfare reform varies dramatically by state, with some having no role at all, and colleges in other states providing training programs that can last as long as 5 years; (2) program development is being coordinated at the local, rather than at the state, level; and (3) several new models of practice are emerging, including short-term job training, flexible delivery options, customized programs, and opting out. A discussion of emerging problems and future directions is also included. (Contains 24 references.) (CAK)