The Rural Youth Program, an experimental program structured upon the results of extensive research on the needs of rural youths in the Southeast, is a coordinated in-school/out-of-school program to meet the needs of rural youths 14 to 20 years of age, regardless of whether these needs stem from poverty, an inadequate educational system, long-standing patterns of rural-to-urban migration, or other sources. Intended for use only in the region's non-Appalachian rural counties (a county with no communities in excess of 5,000 people, or with 60 percent or more of its population living in towns of under 2,500 people), the program stresses 2 efforts: (1) to prevent school dropouts and (2) to prepare these youths to compete more effectively with their urban peers either in the labor market or in advanced education. Due to the large number of dropouts that occur at the completion of the 8th grade, counseling and a limited work experience component for 8th graders is provided. Although some youths from relatively affluent families are eligible to enter the program, only those who meet established poverty criteria are paid for participation in the work experience component which is utilized as a means of income supplement and a counseling tool. This report gives a detailed description of the program's general framework and tentative guidelines for operating model projects within this framework. (NQ)