The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 by the U.S. Congress required welfare recipients to quickly move into the workforce. Employment services agencies perform a key role in this process by providing welfare recipients with work readiness and job search skills. This article reviews the findings of an empirical study of the experiences and employment outcomes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients referred to contracted employment services agencies. The study involves a random-sample survey of 151 TANF recipients in a large, urban, north-central county. The findings suggest that generic work readiness activities may be of limited utility unless they include job leads to actual employment opportunities. The article concludes with a discussion of critical issues for practitioners.

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