The only solid base for a social program is reality. When it is built on foundations composed of what "should" be, the program begins in a perilous position. Community action programs ignored local political realities, commodity programs ignored what the p9or really eat, and the Legal Services Program of OEO ignored how the legal profession would react. It is the purpose of this thesis to help overcome some of this problem i.n the area of legal services by providing information . I about the environment in which it must function. By adding information about the small town to that previously gathered concerning urban and rural areas, the analysis of the environment becomes more complete. This should allow policymakers a better idea of which programs can work and which ones cannot.