Inside Front Cover 1 A Guide for the Development of Policies and Procedures in Ontario’s Community Literacy Agencies by Fiona Huebner Community Literacy of Ontario 1999 2 Use of this Guide Permission is given for literacy agencies to reproduce any sections of this Guide for use within their agency, as long as acknowledgement is given to Community Literacy of Ontario (CLO). Additional copies may be obtained from CLO, for a fee. Important Notices Since there is no one typical literacy agency, there is not one set of policies and procedures to fit all. Suggestions contained within this document are offered as a guide and are not intended to be prescriptive. You are invited to use or adapt only what is applicable to the needs of your organization. Community Literacy of Ontario accepts no liability for the use of these policies. It is the responsibility of each agency to seek out appropriate professional and/or legal counsel for matters specific to their organization. All sources have been cited, where known. If you know of a source which has not been credited, please contact Community Literacy of Ontario. © Community Literacy of Ontario Inc., ISBN 0-9684698-0-9 Printed in Canada, First printing 1999 Published by: Community Literacy of Ontario Inc. 80 Bradford Street, Suite 508 Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4N 7P2 Phone: 705-733-2312 • Fax: 705-733-6197 web site:www.nald.ca/volman.htm Acknowledgements Project Research and Writing: Fiona Huebner Project Manager: Joanne Kaattari Project Funding: Ministry of Education and Training (Literacy and Basic Skills Section) and the National Literacy Secretariat Reference Group: Audrey Anderson, Carynne Arnold, Lindsay Kennedy, Judy Morrison, Marianne Paul, Doug Rankin, Alison Rowe, Jane Tuer. Design and Layout: Steve Knowles, The Right Type Copy Editing Assistance: Peggy Bridgland Circulation and Administrative Support: Jette Cosburn 3 Table of Contents 1 About This Guide.............................................................................................................1 1.1 How to Use This Guide..........................................................................................................3 1.2 Who the Guide is For ............................................................................................................4 1.3 Service Quality Management Approach ...............................................................................5 1.4 If You are Funded by the Ministry of Education and Training (MET) .................................7 1.5 Defining Policies and Procedures .........................................................................................9 1.6 Important Considerations ..................................................................................................11 1.7 More to Come in Phase Two................................................................................................12 1.8 Special Issues for Literacy...................................................................................................13 1.9 Planning Your Approach .....................................................................................................15 1.10 Appendices for Section One................................................................................................19 2 Organizational Policies..............................................................................................23 2.1 Articles of Incorporation ....................................................................................................25 2.2 The Constitution and By-laws ............................................................................................27 2.3 Mission Statement ..............................................................................................................31 2.4 Beliefs and Values ...............................................................................................................35 2.5 Planning..............................................................................................................................42 2.6 Operating Structure............................................................................................................46 2.7 Policies about Policies.........................................................................................................54 2.8 Appendices for Section Two................................................................................................59 3 Administrative Policies .............................................................................................67 3.1 Policy-Making for the Administration of Your Agency.......................................................69 3.2 Policies That Apply to Board Members...............................................................................70 3.3 Policies that Apply to Volunteers.........................................................................................78 3.4 Policies That Apply to Staff .................................................................................................88 3.5 Other Administrative Policies.............................................................................................92 3.6 Appendices for Section Three.............................................................................................99 4 4 Operational Policies: Human Resources ..................................................... 107 4.1 Position Descriptions ....................................................................................................... 109 4.2 Personnel Policies............................................................................................................. 112 4.3 Contracts .......................................................................................................................... 127 4.4 Salary Grid........................................................................................................................ 130 4.5 Appendices for Section Four ............................................................................................ 133 5 Operational Policies: Financial Management......................................... 145 5.1 Policies for Financial Management .................................................................................. 147 Supporting Documents ........................................................................................ SD-1 SD.1 Bibliography.................................................................................................................. SD-3 SD.2 Additional Bibliographic Notes..................................................................................... SD-9 SD.3 Where to Turn for Further Support............................................................................. SD-10 SD.4 Operational Policies and Procedures Manual for Community Literacy of Ontario ............................................................... SD-21 A Guide for the Development of Policies and Procedures in Ontario’s Community Literacy Agencies 1 1 About This Guide This section puts the Guide in context: why it was written and how to use it so that you will end up with some basic strategies and suggestions for developing or 1 reviewing your own policies and procedures. Topics in this Section 1.1 How to Use This Guide.......................................................3 1.2 Who the Guide is For..........................................................4 1.3 Service Quality Management Approach.............................5 1.4 If You are Funded by the Ministry of Education and Training (MET)..........................................7 1.5 Defining Policies and Procedures.......................................9 1.6 Important Considerations................................................11 1.7 More to Come in Phase Two.............................................12 1.8 Special Issues for Literacy................................................13 1.9 Planning Your Approach ..................................................15 1.10 Appendices for Section One.............................................19 COMMUNITY LITERACY OF ONTARIO 2 A Guide for the Development of Policies and Procedures SECTION 1: About This Guide 3 in Ontario’s Community Literacy Agencies How to Use This Guide 1.1 How to Use This Guide This Guide provides an overview of the process for developing your own policies and procedures. Each section contains the following units of information: The Guide is structured to offer some basic information on various policy areas. However, an in-depth treatment of each topic is not within the scope of this project. Although a large number of policy areas are covered, it is not expected that all of them will be necessary or relevant to your agency. Consider this a “smorgasbord” to guide your options rather than a prescriptive how-to manual. Watch for more to come in Phase Two! Under each topic, there are Your Turn exercises for you to apply to your own agency. If you follow and complete these exercises, you should finish with an assessment of your agency’s current position and a plan of action for policy development. Each topic also offers Tips and Resources which will include practical insights and leads for getting further information. This is where you might begin to expand on the subject. All references throughout the document are cited fully in the Annotated Bibliography in the Supporting Documents section at the end of the Guide. Finally, most topics feature actual