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Welfare systems in most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries are under pressure. In some countries the key factor has been a long-term trend increase in the number of people of working age who are dependent on benefit payments. In other countries, particularly the United States of America (USA), the welfare system is seen as ineffective. In response to these changes, and to the growing costs of their social assistance and unemployment compensation systems, governments have embarked on radical reforms aimed at creating work-based welfare systems. This chapter emphasises that a key element in the new approaches is the increased involvement of local partnerships and organisations in designing, developing and implementing programs. It discusses decentralisation, the public employment service (PES) and case management, local partnerships and local employment, training initiatives and the importance of the local dimension. It also looks at welfare-to-work in the USA, welfare-to-work and the New Deal in the United Kingdom and welfare reform in the Netherlands.