Community work-education councils are supplying "grass roots" citizen involvement in policymaking on transitional services for youth moving from school to work. Since 1977, almost 1,000 people in thirty-three communities have participated in local work-education councils affiliated with the national Work-Education Consortium. On the average, the councils consist of twenty-three members representing community leaders and program directors. The success of such collaborative efforts depends on the presence of the following fundamentals: leadership, representation, responsibility, understanding, resources, and independence to assess their own needs, priorities, ability to initiate actions, and proper timing for changes. Unlike the needs and priorities of federal and state programs which are mandated, those of local councils are selected to suit their specific situations, and vary from emphasis on data collection (to aid in developing local awareness and understanding of youth transition issues) to the provision of accurate and up-to-date career information for youth. Eight of the thirty-three councils represent rural areas and, with the assistance of the National Manpower Institute, have formulated a charter of ten major propositions to improve rural youth transition. As communities, in general, build on this charter and the other fundamentals of collaboration, they will achieve greater influence in shaping education-and-work policy for youth transition. (ELG)