This manual is based upon a study of 247 old people and their families and five long-term care facilities in New York City. The data indicate that what families do for their aged kin in institutions makes a difference to the older person, and that the ability of families to maintain contact with their institutionalized relative depends, in part, on the extent to which the institution encourages the presence and activities of families. The first part of this manual discusses how staff can work with aged residents, their families, and the family-less aged in long-term care facilities. There is a bibliography for this section and appendices with suggestions for application forms, interdepartmental memoranda, and a handbook for applicants and their families. The second part of the manual provides a theoretical formulation which can be used as the basis for the design and evaluation of long-term care facility policies and programs. This section includes an analysis of: (1) differences in structure and function between the long-term care facility and the family; (2) attributes of the institution and the family which create tension between them; (3) linkage mechanisms which institutions and families use which enable them to work together. (Author/RF)