Canada’s go-to guide for for screening volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults has been upgraded for the first time in 16 years.

The government-issued handbook contains the best practices for volunteer organizations, and was updated to reflect recent changes in the law.

Public safety minister Vic Toews said the guide should be the bible for “not just large organizations, but I would point out that this could well be used by smaller organizations.”

Toews adds that those smaller groups “often don’t have the administrative or organizational capacity to really understand what steps they should be taking.”

The CEO of Volunteer Canada – which wrote the guide – said screening is about much more than just doing a police check.

“It really does raise the profile again of screening being a comprehensive ten-step process,” Ruth MacKenzie told reporters, adding that the guide is also about the volunteer – finding a position which is the best fit for them.

“It moves us away from I think what has become synonymous with screening, as in police checks.”

The handbook was written in 1996, and covers all types of volunteers – from hockey coaches to helpers at nursing homes – and even discusses protocols for unpaid door-to-door jobs.

“You want to make sure that your volunteer canvassers working alone and collecting dollars in your community are representing your organization well and are well-screened for their position,” MacKenzie said.