Summary: The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program can be used to help teen parents receiving welfare--even those considered hardest to serve--complete their high school education. In the 16 states GAO reviewed, about 24 percent of the teen parents receiving welfare had been enrolled in JOBS. The share of teen parents enrolled in each of these states, however, differed substantially, anywhere from seven to 53 percent. Although the states varied in important ways that affected teen parents' enrollment, this finding is not unexpected in a program such as JOBS, which is a financial and programmatic partnership between the federal and state governments. GAO cannot yet draw any firm conclusions about the effectiveness of JOBS in helping these young mothers. The numbers served are relatively small and not enough is known about the impact of JOBS on reducing welfare dependence among teen parents and their families. Moreover, JOBS is a relatively new program that has been operating in an environment of mounting fiscal distress and competing demands on state budgets. However, as state programs evolve, the economy recovers, and states choose to target more funds to JOBS, states may have greater capacity to enroll teen parents and strengthen the education and support services tailored to their needs. Because some teen parents have been improperly excluded from JOBS and states may be missing opportunities to enroll teen parents before they become welfare cases, GAO believes that steps should be taken to ensure that all teen parents are properly identified and told of the requirements for participating in JOBS.
