The migrant program is a national program legislatively mandated to "establish programs and projects designed to meet the special needs of migratory children of migratory agricultural workers and to coordinate these programs and projects with similar programs in other states." In Illinois, technical assistance and funds are provided to school districts and community agencies for developing supplemental educational services to meet the unique needs of 3,500 interstate and intrastate migrant children and 500 former migrant children. In order to meet the unique academic needs of these children, 5 main goals have been established: (1) extend funds to insure the success of program projects; (2) provide technical assistance to program personnel in the development, implementation, operation, and evaluation of migrant programs; (3) continue to identify impacted areas of migrant populations; (4) develop models for intercommunication between the permanent and migrant communities; and (5) encourage coordination of intrastate programs and cooperation of interstate programs and projects in order to provide continuity of educational experiences. This booklet provides guidelines to aid State Office of Education employees and local school personnel in developing effective migrant programs which comply with national and state policy. Topics are: eligibility; national, State, and local policy; State and local operations; the Migrant Student Record Transfer System; and program design. (Author/NQ)