This dissertation provides a qualitative analysis of support services for students with disabilities and offers recommendations formulated to improve counseling services to future populations. Disability support services (DSS), as practiced by counselors in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), is examined as a model of support services available to students enrolling in postsecondary settings nationally. According to survey data complied by the American Council of Education (ACE), over 9% of all freshmen report having disabilities. Community colleges serve a greater proportion of this population than any other institutions of higher education. Counselors in community colleges are particularly impacted by this growing population. This study uses naturalistic inquiry to analyze the structure of disability support services at VCCS. A 2000 survey by the Virginia Board for Persons with Disabilities indicated that 59% of VCCS institutions responding (18%) had written policies regarding disability support services, compared with 92% of four-year colleges and universities. This study examines documentation standards counselors use to provide services, provision of core services, systems-wide support and coordination for providers of services, and funding and resources. Appended are: American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Research Brief (AACC-RB-97-1), "Disability Support Services in Community Colleges" (Lynn Barnett and Yong Li); AHEAD Program Standards; and materials from the Virginia Community College Disability Services Conference (Richmond, VA, June 11, 1999). (Contains 45 references and 8 tables.) (Author/NB)