The Mountain-Plains Education & Economic Development Program, which exemplifies the comprehensive, residential family-centered approach to serving the economically disadvantaged, was compared to four similar programs in the United States: Arizona Job Colleges (AJC) in Arizona; Madera Employment Training Center (METC) in California; Manpower, Employment and Training (MET) in Texas; and Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Association (MSFA) in North Carolina. These programs shared four basic characteristics: target population--rural poor families; mission--improve the employability, life satisfaction, and productive output of disadvantaged families; location--rural; and residential training--housing for participant families located at the training site. Via site visits, the programs were compared in terms of five broad categories of organizational characteristics: historical and geographical aspects, organizational structure, service areas and program processes, resource allocations, and service units and their associated costs. It was found that the programs followed three fundamentally different approaches to rehabilitating the poor. AJC, MSFA, and MP represented the most comprehensive approach, balancing job skill training with a broad array of supportive services and training for all family members. Substantial differences were found in the: characteristics of program participants, organizational structure, and costs incurred by the programs. (NQ)