The monograph reports on a year-long ethnographic study of a program for deaf students, DeafCAN (College Access Network) at Laney College, a community college in Oakland, California. During the 1988-89 year of observation, the program offered six specially designed courses, a daily lab hour, tutoring services, and a women's support/rap group. The study was designed to describe the program, evaluate the program, and construct a program model for dissemination. The study particularly looked at: the effects of the program on the mental health of the 12 new students, bilingualism and the use of American Sign Language and English, student goals, and DeafCAN as a family. Extensive tape recordings (video and audio) of classroom and informal settings provided the data for analysis. Individual chapters of the report address the following: the setting; the DeafCAN program; the DeafCAN staff; staff meetings; DeafCAN students; students' language attitudes; students' social networks; student writing samples; underlying themes in the DeafCAN program; the impact of DeafCAN on students' mental health; student goals; DeafCAN as a bilingual/bicultural program; DeafCAN as a family; relationships between students and staff; and contact between deaf and hearing cultures. Extensive quotes and anecdotal accounts are included in the report. (DB)