A study identified strategies for increasing the retention of disadvantaged students in nontraditional programs in Florida. The first phase of the study consisted of a review of literature concerning working women, the earnings gap between men and women, barriers to enrollment in nontraditional programs, and recruitment and retention strategies. During the next phase of the study, researchers interviewed teachers, counselors, and administrators at three vocational-technical centers, four community colleges, and five high schools, all in Florida, that were identified as having a high percentage of nontraditional students. In addition, they administered surveys to 465 students enrolled in program areas at these 12 institutions. Based on their analysis of the information obtained from these interviews and from the survey, the researchers identified a series of recruitment, counseling, training, pretraining, placement, and follow-up strategies that appeared successful in the 12 schools examined. As a further validation measure, a cross-tabulation was made between the items included in the student survey form and the context of the strategies. After thus establishing the validity of the strategies, the researchers incorporated the strategies into a manual on strategies for increasing the retention of disadvantaged students in nontraditional vocational programs in Florida. (MN)