A study examined states' development of automated systems for the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program administered by the states, with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) responsible for program oversight and direction. Results indicated that ACF had not provided direction and focus in its systems development guidance to help states develop automated information systems that effectively support the basic JOBS program objective--helping welfare clients become employed. ACF's system development guidance instead focused merely on requirements for data collection and reporting on people in the program. Officials from all six states visited said that accessibility to a listing of available jobs or information on the kinds of jobs needed in the community would help caseworkers provide greater assistance to clients by helping them find jobs or tailoring a training program to increase their marketability. They did not design their systems to provide this information because they were concerned solely with meeting the federal requirements provided by ACF. Most of the 53 states and territories had automated JOBS information systems that were either operational or under development. The kind of system and degree of automation varied by state. Almost half of the states' systems did not collect all the data or have all the functions required by ACF. (Appendixes include a summary of questionnaire results and comments from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.) (YLB)