Many other states are currently engaged in planning or implementing similar studies. Looking at the studies as a whole, however, suggests several findings at this early stage. It reported that most recipients who leave welfare are finding jobs. The Mississippi result is an exception. There are few sanctioned individuals who find work.
Most jobs are in the services and retail trade.
So far, few families who leave welfare have been able to escape poverty. This is a critical question as attention turns from getting recipients off welfare and into jobs to keeping families off welfare and helping them move toward self-sufficiency. Cross-sectional studies being carried out over time have not shown much difference in work outcomes for families leaving welfare recently compared to those who left as welfare reforms were initially implemented. While most families are working, enough are not working to cause serious concerns. Very little is known about the situation of those families, their means of support, and the long-term stability of their financial support systems.