A three-year project was conducted to study mid-career changes and the educational and training needs of these adults. Two key elements of social and economic development were studied: (1) mid-career students, including their characteristics, goals, and education/training needs; and (2) the environments for learning and retraining created by community-level organizations. (Mid-career students were defined as those who had interrupted or terminated their formal education, had been employed or otherwise occupied for at least five years, and were now reentering some form of formal education or training.) The mid-career student data was gathered by means of comprehensive questionnaires completed by 1,042 mid-career students enrolled in multi-institutional education and training programs in seven widely separated communities in the United States. The community-level organizations were studied ln visits to each community by the project team, who interviewed community leaders, educators, local and state education policy makers, and students. Based on the findings, a set of alternative models or "ideal" types of community organization was constructed, and a list of basic elements of community support services was developed for use as a checklist to evaluate the probable effectiveness of existing or proposed community organizations. (BM)