Summary: GAO discussed the implementation of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, focusing on the allocation of program funds to economically depressed areas. GAO found that: (1) although funds were generally used to provide vocational education to underserved groups, some allocation mechanisms directed funds to more affluent areas; (2) vocational education students in disadvantaged areas were less likely to receive as much funding on a per-capita basis for improved or modernized program activities as students outside such areas; (3) some states designated relatively wealthy areas as economically disadvantaged and provided greater per-capita funding to those areas than to some poorer communities; (4) the funds allocation formula for disadvantaged populations shifted funds from poor communities to more affluent ones because it included nonpoor, academically disadvantaged students; (5) disadvantaged and handicapped population funds could be reallocated from poorer to wealthier communities; and (6) complete and reliable data on vocational education enrollment and spending were unavailable at either the national or state level.
