The purpose of this guide is to provide local Head Start program decision-makers with a tool that will be useful in developing needs assessments appropriate to their communities, whether urban or rural. Although the guide focused on community needs assessments for planning mainstream services for children with handicapping conditions, its principles and processes can apply to developing more general community needs assessments by Head Start programs. The materials, adapted to local situations, can be used to design a systematic process that measures needs against available resources in a manner useful to local programs in their own environment. Contents concern (1) assessing handicap service needs in Head Start; (2) the Head Start Program 6 Cycle; (3) planning the assessment process; (4) a step by step process for planning and implementing community needs assessments for children with handicapping conditions; (5) an assessment planning calendar; implementing the process; (6) gathering information; (7) sample surveys, such as a resource awareness survey, a community resources checklist, a survey of community needs and resources, a community needs assessment for family services, and a survey of parents of children with handicapping conditions; (8) consumer information; (9) survey forms; (10) tabulating the data; and (11) using the information. (RH)