Based on information provided by state directors of community/junior college education, this report reviews state approaches to community college financing. The report includes data from 35 states, which together accounted for 86.3% of the total enrollment in community/junior colleges in 1980. Section I presents conclusions drawn from the data, including: (1) the trend toward increased state support with less emphasis on local funds continued; (2) program quality suffered as a result of marginal funding; (3) student costs continued to rise; and (4) political leadership has a limited understanding of the potential of the community college. Section II describes financing patterns in each reporting state, emphasizing changes occurring since 1978. Section III begins by enumerating six unique functions of community colleges, then notes the shift in funding from the local to state level, and reviews suggested criteria for funding. It then describes four common state-funding patterns: negotiated funding, where state support is based on an annual negotiation between the colleges and the state; unit-rate formulas, where funding is based on a stated amount of money per a selected unit, such as full-time equivalent student; minimum foundation funding, where state funds are modified by local tax yield; and cost-based program funding. Data tables in Section IV illustrate the increasing role of state support in community college funding, the wide range of expenditures per student, and the similarities of states' funding problems. (KL)