This book was designed to serve as a guide for vocational education administrators in implementing comprehensive program planning (the process of forecasting the future and then preparing for it) as called for in the Education Amendments of 1976. The content is presented in ten chapters. The first provides an overview of comprehensive planning in vocational education, while the next chapter proposes a decision-making strategy for program planning. Chapter 3 covers the rationale and need for comprehensive planning at the national, state, and local levels. The focus of the fourth chapter is on information systems for planning, including the design, operations, and use of information systems. Chapter 5 on the use of resources to support planning functions discusses the securing, allocation, and management of resources. In the next chapter the human element in comprehensive planning is covered and includes staff involvement in planning and the effective use of advisory groups. Chapter 7 deals with the training of personnel to plan effectively, while the eighth chapter covers the implementation of the planning program. Chapter 9 discusses different planning techniques, such as the Delphi technique and advocate team progress. The last chapter focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of comprehensive planning. Four case studies demonstrating exemplary approaches to state plan development are appended. (EM)