Designed for use in high school and adult education programs, this manual was developed to help marketing and distributive education teachers to develop or upgrade community/work-based programs; and to assist teachers who operate these programs to use legal operational practices and to meet the occupational needs of their students and communities. The guide is organized in six sections. Section 1 reviews the career opportunities available within marketing and distributive industries, while section 2 outlines the three types of community/work-based programs covered in the publication: cooperative vocational education, vocational work experience, and community classroom. Section 3 offers program strategies for the three types of community/work-based programs; five successful programs are profiled in section 4. In section 5, laws, rules, and regulations relevant to community/work-based programs are explained, especially as they apply to California. A brief self-help quiz follows the excerpted laws, rules, and regulations so that the reader may test his or her understanding of the legal requirements underlying community/work-based programs. The final portion of the book, section 6, includes several examples of forms that are used in community/work-based programs. A bibliography of current books, periodicals, pamphlets, and reports closes the section. (KC)