During the 1987 Academy Meeting, a joint Optometric Education/Public Health and Occupational Optometry Symposium was held on The Delivery of Optometric Care in Nontraditional Settings. Papers were presented on prison systems, long-term care facilities, schools for the mentally/physically handicapped, home eye care services, migrant work program, and juvenile detention facilities. This paper is an overview of care delivered in nontraditional settings, including important health care and demographic considerations, brief summation of the nontraditional populations presented, the impact on optometric education, and implications for optometric manpower needs.