MCB Video

The Michigan Commission for the Blind (MCB) was established on October 1, 1978 (by P.A. 260).  This year, MCB is celebrating 30 years of "Changing Lives, Changing Attitudes," while providing services to people in Michigan who are blind or visually impaired. 

Mission Statement: The mission of the Michigan Commission for the Blind is to provide opportunity to individuals who are blind or visually impaired to achieve employability and/or function independently in society.

Vision Statement: The vision of the Michigan Commission for the Blind is that someday it will be said that Michigan is a great place for blind people to live, learn, work, raise a family, and enjoy life because:

1. An excellent array of rehabilitation and education services are fully accessible to blind people,
2. Blind people in Michigan believe in themselves and their capacity to achieve excellence,
3. The state's general population believes in the abilities of blind people and understands what blindness is and what it is not, and
4. Michigan employers understand, believe in, and hire people who are blind.

Overview: The Michigan Commission for the Blind is the state government agency that provides training, services, and other opportunities to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, so that each person can achieve his or her own goals for independence and/or employment. Each year, the Michigan Commission for the Blind serves approximately 4,500 individuals who are blind or visually impaired, providing services in all 83 counties of the state.  Services may be provided in a person's home, at  Mini Adjustment Seminars  held at various locations around the state, and/or at the residential  MCB Training Center  in Kalamazoo.  Specific programs and services include:

Vocational Rehabilitation Program
Business Services (for employers)
Independent Living Program (age 55 and over)
DeafBlind Services
Youth Services
Business Enterprise Program (food service entrepreneurship)  

MCB  locations  include a central office in Lansing, eight field offices statewide, and the MCB Training Center in Kalamazoo.  MCB has a staff of nearly 100 available to serve the state's estimated 50,000 persons who are blind. 

For more than 50 years, the state of Michigan has been providing educational, training, and rehabilitation opportunities to individuals who are blind or visually impaired to help them achieve their goals.  MCB was created under Public Act 260 of 1978, as amended. Federal guidance is provided through the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) of the United States Department of Education.  MCB programs are funded under various federal grants with matching state revenues.

Read a copy of the MCB brochure,  Welcome to the Michigan Commission for the Blind .

For more information, call toll-free:  1-800-292-4200 (voice) or 1-888-864-1212 (TTY).

MCB Commission Board Members:
Ms. Jo Ann Pilarski, MCB Commission Chair
Ms. Velma P. Allen, MCB Commissioner
Mr. Mark Eagle, MCB Commissioner
Ms. Geraldine G. Taeckens, MCB Commissioner
Ms. Margaret Wolfe, MCB Commissioner

MCB State Director:
Mr. Patrick D. Cannon, MCB State Director