This document describes the resource allocation and targeting provisions of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Act of 1984 and identifies and evaluates some policy options. An introduction outlines the aims and scope of the report. Section 2 describes grants for handicapped and disadvantaged vocational students, addressing the evolution of federal aid for such students, the intended uses and effects of such aid, and the provisions that allocate and target funds. Section 3 explains how the terms "handicapped,""disadvantaged," and "vocational student" are defined in the legislation. Also included are the definition of permitted uses of funds, the implications for resource allocation and targeting, an assessment of the specific matching provisions, and a summary of findings and policy options. Section 4 covers the legislation's supplemental services and excess cost provisions. Section 5 explains the requirement for matching funds. Section 6 takes up the "supplement, not supplant," requirement of the legislation, and includes approaches to making nonsupplanting more effective. Section 7 describes the service mandates and equal access provisions of the legislation. Also included is an explanation of the roles of Congress, the Department of Education, and the Office of Vocational and Adult Education. Section 8 describes the legislation's mechanisms for distributing funds between and within states. Section 9 describes the set of targeting provisions as a whole. Section 10, the longest in the report, contains a detailed analysis of the Perkins grants for program improvement. A 27-item reference list is included. (CML)