Reauthorization of welfare reform legislation has focused attention on the effectiveness of short-term training as a means for welfare recipients to attain self-sufficiency. Its effects on employment and earnings have been one focus of recent evaluations of federal programs. Although some Job Opportunities and Basic Skills programs produced moderate employment and earnings gains for the most disadvantaged sample members, overall, few programs produced large effects. Job Corps participants enjoyed positive employment and earnings benefits that were relatively even across genders and high- and low-risk groups. Similar effects have been found in studies of state and local programs involving short-term training promoting self-sufficiency, among other services: (1) Connecticut's Jobs First evaluation; (2) Job Search Assistance Demonstration of unemployment insurance claimants in the District of Columbia and Florida; (3) the Los Angeles Jobs-First GAIN evaluation; and (4) Parents' Fair Share. Other research has identified characteristics of effective programs, including being targeted to the local labor market and to jobs with relatively high earnings, employment growth, and opportunities for advancement, a mix of academic education, occupational skills training, and work-based learning, and other supportive services. Short-term training programs can increase welfare recipients' employment and earnings, but increases are usually small. (Contains 21 references.) (SK)