About 2 years after enactment of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program, the Southport Institute for Policy Analysis began a 2-year study of how extensively JOBS was being implemented at the state level, in what manner, and with what results. The study included four elements: literature review, interviews and consultations with national experts in welfare and adult education policy, case studies in five states (Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Indiana, and Kansas), and a national mail survey of officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to the findings, programs were in place in most parts of the country, although they varied greatly in scope, method of operation, and financing. Important learning gains were being achieved for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) adults and their children. States gave a heavier emphasis to education than job placement. One of the most surprising findings was how strongly the states felt that the federal goal of bringing AFDC recipients to an 8.9 grade level was inadequate, primarily because all evidence indicates that this achievement level would still leave them either unemployable or employable at less than a living wage. States faced many problems at many levels, both operational and programmatic. The largest problems related to the lack or inadequacy of financing, goals, and coordination. (YLB)