ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The provision of welfare support services at the state level faces dramatic upheaval in the coming months and years. More and more of the burden of creating and implementing welfare-to-work programs will be in the states ' hands, as will the necessity of evaluating the effectiveness of these programs in achieving desired outcomes. One likely component of the impending national welfare reform will be the imposition of a five-year time limit on the receipt of support services. With such a limited tune frame, it will be extraordinarily important for the states to develop programs that encourage self-sufficiency through employment. The Ohio JOBS Student Retention Program (JSRP) was developed and implemented prior to this current rush to reform welfare, but it anticipated the necessity to improve welfare recipients ' earnings potential via education. The State of Ohio should be commended for taking the lead in implementing programs with such potential for improving independence. The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research received a contract from the State of Ohio to study the effectiveness of the JSRP process and to evaluate its outcomes. We are grateful to the State of Ohio for their financial support as well as to the many individuals in the various administrative offices in Ohio whose efforts facilitated the evaluation process, thereb