A study was conducted in three cities (Philadelphia, Cleveland, and San Francisco), selected to represent a cross section of major cities based on resident socio-economic characteristics, industrial base, and school system configuration. The effect of the decision of local school administrators concerning the critical needs of the community with respect to how these decisions shaped Adult Vocational Education (AVE) programs in these cities was studied. AVE students were questioned, and the following data were collected: (1) 72% of males were white; (2) 67% of males had completed 12 or more years of school; (3) 84% of males were employed; (4) Major reason for attending was job upgrading. It was found that lack of financial assistance hampered most programs. However, present AVE programs could be expanded and operated for a minimum amount of money if the disadvantaged group were recruited and safeguards were devised to prevent local school systems from utilizing the AVE money for other purposes. The AVE program in two of the cities studied is a small part of a large adult program that has no direct ties to other vocational training. Other findings of this study are: (1) None of the programs has in the past utilized a formal planning process for guiding program development; (2) No descriptive data on students are presently collected; (3) Guidance is limited to course selection and scheduling problems; and (4) The thrust of current programs is such that job development is unnecessary. (Author/CK)