The state of the art of career education for handicapped persons was reviewed beginning with the events and developments which have aided in the growth of career education for the handicapped since 1971. Specific career education needs of the handicapped were identified, and the concept of career education was clarified. The study examined relevant research on the roles of occupation, citizen, family, and avocation associated with persons who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, partially sighted, crippled, health impaired, mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, learning disabled, or multi-handicapped. Research conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of various curricular approaches in this field was also studied. Finally, research in the areas of teaching counseling methods and career assessment, exploration, and preparation for the handicapped was reviewed. The research indicated that only now are school systems beginning to retool and initiate a comprehensive array of services: infusion of total school resources, community participation, and family involvement. Based on past research and reviews of research in progress, ten generalizations were drawn. Three are as follow: (1) the majority of handicapped students who leave school are in danger of becoming either unemployed or underemployed in later life; (2) currently there is considerable curricula variability in scope and sequence for career education program implementation, but more definitive guidelines and procedures are necessary upon which to build curricula; and (3) parents appear to have a significant influence on the handicapped person's career development. (BM)