Needs of Displaced Homemakers.

As part of its five-year state plan for vocational education, the California State Department of Education and the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges commissioned a study of the needs of displaced homemakers. (These women's needs were relevant to the state's plans for vocational education because the Education Amendments of 1976 made it possible to address them.) Information was gathered by literature review, mail questionnaire, and direct communication with displaced homemakers and their service providers. These three information bases showed that displaced homemakers had a large number of needs that could be grouped into five major categories: informational needs about the services available to them; financial needs, both long- and short-term; personal counseling needs to aid in becoming emotionally stable and self-sufficient; vocational needs--for employment at a level sufficient to support their families; and education and training needs to prepare for a first or a better job. It was also found that displaced homemakers are a product of a society that refuses to recognize work done in the home as "real work," and it was stated that until societal attitudes change, with changes in Social Security and other financial programs, along with employer attitude changes, displaced homemakers will continue to have many problems in American society. (A bibliography of displaced homemaker materials is included in the report.) (KC)