This document describes the 1988 Search for Excellence in Vocational Programs, which identifies excellence in vocational service programs for persons with disabilities. The three steps of a management strategy to help administrators make changes in programs to achieve excellence are explained: (1) develop an "Excellence Plan": (2) develop a system for assessing excellence; and (3) develop a management strategy. Winners and finalists are profiled in four service areas: (1) community-based work services (winner--Association for Retarded Citizens, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and finalists--Magic City Enterprises, Cheyenne, Wyoming) and Career Services for the Handicapped (Albuquerque, New Mexico); (2) employability development (winner--Easter Seal Society for Children and Adults of Tarrant County, Fort Worth, Texas, and finalists--Goodwill Industries of Lane County, Eugene, Oregon, and South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, West Columbia, South Carolina); (3) facility-based work services (winner--Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida, and finalists--Minnesota Diversified Industries, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Napa Valley, P.S.I., Inc., Napa, California); and (4) occupational skill training (winner--Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, Little Rock, Arkansas, and finalists--Multi Resource Centers, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, and South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department, West Columbia, South Carolina). (NLA)