Volunteer Risk and Program Management (VRPM)

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program relies on volunteers to serve the Medicare beneficiaries within their states and territories. Without sound volunteer policies, there are inherent risks to SMPs in recruiting and making use of these volunteers. With that in mind, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has developed a set of volunteer policies designed to establish and organize the structure and operation of volunteer programs within the SMP.

The purpose of these volunteer policies is to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and safety of SMP services through the provision of guidance and direction to SMP staff and volunteers.

Approximately 100 resources have been developed to help SMPs implement ACL’s VRPM policies. The VRPM resources are described below and available in the SMP Resource Library.

Resources	Description
VRPM Orientation	A great place to get started! The SMP Resource Center offers VRPM Orientation periodically. Topics include VRPM policies, VRPM implementation, and more. To find a recording, search the library for key words “VRPM orientation.” To register for upcoming events, see the “Events” tab of the library.
VRPM Policies	ACL’s policies for SMP volunteer risk and program management; the introduction describes how to use the VRPM Policies document.
Summary lists of VRPM resources	These lists provide an overview of the policies and available resources: VRPM Resources by Policy Number VRPM Resources in Alphabetical Order by Grouping
VRPM Policy Implementation Kit	Provides information, tips, and resources to help SMPs implement the VRPM policies and educate volunteer host organizations (VHOs) and other partners, leadership, staff, and volunteers about VRPM.
SMP Volunteer Program Management Manual	A guide to implementing many of the practices covered within the SMP VRPM policies and also how to be an effective coordinator of volunteers.
SMP Volunteer Handbook	This template for local SMP customization contains information on some of the policies that most interest volunteers, such as roles, rights and responsibilities, orientation and training, screening, dismissal, and complaints and grievances.
VRPM resource groupings by topic	VRPM resources are grouped by topic in the SMP Resource Library. To find all of the following VRPM resource groupings in the library, search for key words “VRPM resource,” or search for a specific topic by name. Application Packet Resources Complaint Reporting Resources Dismissing a Volunteer Resources Evaluation and Feedback Resources Information Technology Resources Interview Resources Orientation and Training Resources Performance Management Resources Policy Implementation Kit Recruitment, Retention, and Recognition Resources Risk Assessment Resources Risk Management, Health & Safety Resources Role Description Resources Role Development Resources Screening Resources Volunteer Program Management Manual Welcome Packet Resources
VRPM webinars	A series of webinars on VRPM topics is available to SMPs. To find recordings of past webinars, see the list of VRPM Webinars, Conference Sessions, and Articles. To register for upcoming webinars, see the "Events" tab of the library.
VRPM Questions	For questions about VRPM implementation, email the VRPM mailbox at vrpm@smpresource.org.