A study compared the barriers to employment facing handicapped persons in Israel and the United States. Five vocational rehabilitation centers (two in the United States and three in Israel) were examined. Each was studied in terms of the type of center, population served, goals, nature and scope of services provided, sources of income, staff and staffing patterns, organizational structure, architectural accessibility, geographical area served, local labor market conditions, and business and industrial bases in the area. Greater variation was found among the centers in each country than between the countries with respect to stated rehabilitation goals, nature and scope of services provided, and staff-to-client ratios. Centers were 100 percent government-supported in Israel but only 59-90 percent government-supported in the United States. A greater proportion of the clients served in the U.S. were mentally retarded, whereas the Israeli centers served a greater proportion of physically disabled clients. A pyramid structure was more evident in the U.S. centers as were unemployment problems in the areas surrounding the centers. Considerable differences in opinion concerning the most important outcomes of vocational rehabilitation were evident. The three most important outcomes identified in the United States were competitive employment, stable employment (sheltered or competitive), and increases in total income, whereas improved independent living, increased wages, and increased job satisfaction were the three most important outcomes identified in the Israeli centers. (MN)