This document reports phase 1--the data gathering process--of a research project to study vocational preparation and adjustment of handicapped persons in rural areas of the state of Florida. Following a discussion of phase objectives (chapter 1), chapter 2 provides a review of current educational programs offering vocational/occupational training to handicapped, secondary-level youth and adults in the nation and in Florida. Florida programs are compared to those found throughout the United States on the basis of types of vocational training offered, categories of students enrolled, educational approach or technique, and inclusion of job placement and followup procedures. In chapter 3 some handicapping conditions and programs used to aid in their vocational adjustment are overviewed. Chapter 4 contains a pilot study of handicapped adult employment in a rural community which intended to determine (1) availability of jobs, (2) employer's opinions of handicapped adults as employees, (3) employment status of a number of handicapped adults, and (4) relationship between vocational adjustment and educational history. Chapter 5 summarize phase 1 activities and findings and delineates phase 2 objectives. Appendixes, amounting to approximately one-half of the report, include descriptions of the national-level and Florida programs reviewed, employer and adult questionnaires, and narrative descriptions of handicapped adults interviewed. (YLB)