This paper presents findings from a state-sponsored study of the adult education needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) adults in California. The findings relate primarily to the situation of the over 2.3-million Spanish-speaking LEP adults, and within this population, to Mexican immigrants. Data were gathered in household surveys in three geographically diverse immigrant communities. The focus here is on the study's implications for social policy and planning. Key findings are outlined in these areas: community diversity and its relationship to educational program design; the need for "survival English" vs. development of high-performance communication skills; instructional strategies for building English language skills; the need to explicitly teach learning strategies; the need for customized, community- and labor market-responsive program designs; patterns of participation in formal adult learning programs; and attention to functional context in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. The report also presents details on selected findings concerning language skills and their assessment, and examines Spanish-speaking LEP adults' skill development needs in four major functional domains: workplace; family life; community life; and lifelong learning. (MSE) (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse on Literacy Education)