This manual provides a template of potential policies and procedures. All of the policies are directly linked to the Service Quality Management Requirements found in the LBS Program Guidelines and are also cross-referenced to the Core Quality Standards and the features of the Core Quality Standards. A disk copy of the manual is enclosed. A template is meant to be a guide or a pattern that can be used to "shape" your work. These policy templates can be used as the starting point for drafting policy in your agency.

Each policy/procedure template includes four segments with the following headings:

• Policy Statement
• Why? (reasons for the policy)
• Procedures
• Key core quality standards and features

A check-box bullet precedes each policy statement. This will allow you to use the manual as a checklist when determining what areas of policy and procedure that you have and what areas you agency needs to work on.

In the section of the template entitled "Procedure", there may be a bracketed discussion of what the potential elements of the procedure could be as opposed to a sample procedure. Wherever possible the policies and procedures have been cross-referenced to the Core Quality Standards. The Core Quality Standards are shaded in gray.