Some welfare experts and policymakers advocate providing education and training to prepare welfare recipients for jobs that will eventually help them leave poverty (the "work first" approach), whereas others advocate placing welfare recipients in jobs immediately whenever possible. Although the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 shifted the emphasis of federal policy toward the "work first" approach, it has left states some flexibility in determining how and when to use education and training in their welfare-to-work programs. When deciding how to use this flexibility, states may want to consider the findings of a research project on the relationship between education and the success of welfare-to-work programs. The evidence for the usefulness of occupational training is mixed, as is the evidence for adult education-focused programs. Work-based programs have generally shown better results for welfare recipients than have programs stressing either job search or classroom education and training alone. The research has also identified 25 programs that have drawn attention for their good results or incorporation of features believed to be effective. They include programs training welfare recipients for nontraditional jobs, literacy programs, and vocational training programs for target groups, such as people with limited English skills. (Contains 47 references) (MN)