To help clients meet their employment goals, FSA encourages programs to draw on existing community services to meet participants’ needs, especially to the extent that they can be obtained at no cost to JOBS. JOBS Serves a Small Percentage of the AFDC Caseload

The JOBS program serves a small percentage of the total AFDC caseload because program rules exempt most adult AFDC recipients from participation and because FSA established minimum participation rate requirements. In 1992, about 13 percent of all single female heads of households on AFDC, about one-fourth of the nonexempt adult recipients, were participating each month. 3). JOBS Participants Receive Diverse Education, Training, and Supportive Services

JOBS participants are enrolled in a variety of JOBS components and many receive supportive services. Reasons Varied Why Participants Did Not Receive Needed Services

About two-thirds or more of program administrators selected transportation problems as a reason why JOBS programs could not provide participants with the specific education or training component they needed, even though transportation was the supportive service most participants received (selected reasons appear in table 1). 4), recently passed by the House, repeals the requirement for states to offer a range of services and instead requires states to place an increasing percentage of participants in a work-related activity. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

To assist the 104th Congress in its deliberations on welfare reform, you asked us to examine (1) who is and is not being served under the JOBS program, (2) the range of services JOBS participants are receiving and the extent to which participants’ needs are being met, and (3) the implications of serving participants in a system of time-limited benefits.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Program (JOBS), focusing on: (1) who is being served by JOBS; (2) the services JOBS participants receive and the extent to which their needs are being met; and (3) the implications of serving participants in a time-limited benefit system.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) most adult Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) recipients do not participate in JOBS due to the Family Support Act's allowable exemptions and minimum participation standards; (2) JOBS only served about 13 percent of single female-headed households receiving AFDC in 1992; (3) even if states meet the minimum participation standard, JOBS will still be serving only a small percentage of AFDC households, which raises questions about whether JOBS can transform the culture of welfare; (4) JOBS services are drawn from existing community programs to avoid duplicative services; (5) JOBS programs obtain many services at no cost, although most programs also purchase some needed education and training services; (6) despite low participation, many JOBS programs are unable to provide participants with the services they need due to a variety of reasons, such as transportation problems; and (7) proposed legislation could require states to place increasing numbers of JOBS participants in a variety of work-related activities over time and impose a 5-year limit on the receipt of benefits.