Programs whose primary purpose is to maintain information about human service resources in the community and to link people who need assistance with appropriate service providers and/or to supply descriptive information about the agencies or organizations which offer services. The information and referral process involves establishing contact with the individual, assessing the individual's long and short-term needs, identifying resources to meet those needs, providing a referral to identified resources, and, where appropriate, following up to ensure that the individual's needs have been met.