An intensive study was conducted of areawide planning for the implementation of Title II A, B, and C (formerly Title I) of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), as performed by prime sponsors to meet the needs of their communities. The central objectives of the research were (1) to describe the planning systems that have emerged, (2) to relate the features of planning systems to contextual factors, and (3) to explore the links between these planning systems and program performance. Intensive field work was done in twelve prime sponsorships which were selected because they were reputed to take planning seriously. Results were compared on some questions with national averages and with observations in thirty other prime sponsorships in which intensive field work was done for previous studies. Three major models of planning were observed in the field work studies, as well as a group of exemplary approaches to critical elements of planning and management. The most general finding was that careful planning by prime sponsorship staff does have the potential for helping improve program performance. However, planning was found to be only one of a number of aspects of prime sponsorship management that needs to be handled well in order to achieve programmatic goals. Fortunately, these elements of management are highly manipulable at the local level, and non-manipulative elements of local context such as economic conditions do not create severe restraints on what can be achieved. (Observations and specific recommendations for improving prime sponsor activities are included for review and implementation.) (BM)