Activities of the 104 participants at the first 3-day Rural Workshop of the Handicapped Childrens Early Education Program (HCEEP) Rural Consortium focused on identifying issues and needs of rural projects serving young handicapped children and their families. A pre-workshop survey identified topics and issues to be addressed and resource speakers, panel presenters, and materials. Keynote speaker Dr. Jerry Fletcher recommended political advocacy as an effective method for focusing attention on the need for early childhood special education in rural areas. Concurrent sessions offered a variety of topics including: successful practices in securing funding; stress on rural service providers; establishing community communication and awareness; securing funding for rural programs; assessing parent needs and planning intervention programs; influencing decision makers; cost-effective delivery strategies; recruiting staff for rural areas; interagency coordination; interagency troubleshooting; transportation problems. Issues generated during the concurrent small group presentations fell into six categories: direct service delivery; interagency coordination; funding and policy decisions; training and staff-related concerns; parent/family involvement; and working in the rural community. Workshop evaluation results indicated purposes were met. Appended are: Rural Workshop Interest Survey, Rural Workshop Agenda, List of Participants, List of Congressional Rural Caucus, HCEEP Rural Resource Directory, and Rural Workshop Evaluation Questionnaire. (NEC)