BSBP Program Overviews

A broad overview of programs offered by the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons and eligibility requirements.  

Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation

Business Enterprise Program

• Self-employment in food and vending businesses located in state and federal facilities and rest areas 
• Age 18 and up (must open a Vocational Rehabilitation case first)
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that subtend an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• Training, site set-up based on availability and equipment provided after successful completion of Program Training
• You must be a United States Citizen
  
  

Students 

Youth Low Vision

• Age birth to 14
• Visual acuity of 20/70 or less in the best corrected eye; Visual field restriction 40 degrees or less in the best eye with documented deteriorating eye diagnosis
• State funded program for head-borne devices to maximize use of child's residual vision

Pre-Employment Transition Services

• Age 14 to 26
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that is restricted an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• Designed to complement and enhance services the student may or may not be receiving at school and includes a post-secondary focus on workplace readiness and skills that lead to success upon existing the school system and related school supports. 
• Various programs and services will assist students with identifying career interests to be further explored through additional vocational rehabilitation services

Potentially Eligible

• Age 14 to 26
• Eligibility - Students with a visual disability who have not yet applied or been made eligible for VR services
• Designed to complement and enhance services the student may or may not be receiving at school and includes a post-secondary focus on workplace readiness and skills that lead to success upon existing the school system and related school supports. 
• Various programs and services will assist students with identifying career interests to be further explored through additional vocational rehabilitation services

Independent Living Services

Independent Living Services

• Age 55 years or older
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that subtend an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• Services are directed at maintaining independence in the home and community.

IL Part B

• Typically customers less than 55 years of age 
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that subtend an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• Services are directed at maintaining independence in the home and community delivered by BSBP staff and the Centers for Independent Living.

Specialized Services

DeafBlind Services

• Age 14 and up who are legally blind per definition below AND have moderate to profound hearing loss
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that subtend an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• AND Who has a chronic hearing impairment so severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification, or a progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this condition AND
• For whom the combination of impairments described in previous 2 bullet points of this section cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining a vocation

Braille and Talking Book Library

• No age restriction
• An individual who is blind or has a visual impairment that makes them unable to comfortably read print books
• An individual who has a perceptual or reading disability
• An individual who has a physical disability that makes it hard to hold or manipulate a book or to focus or move the eyes as needed to read a print book
• Facilities such as schools, hospitals, and nursing homes, that regularly serve clients meeting the eligibility requirements

Residential Instruction

BSBP Training Center

• Age 14 and up
• Eligibility - Legally Blind: Central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with corrections; OR The field of vision is restricted to 20 degrees or less
• Exception to Legal Blindness: A visual acuity with best correction 20/100 or worse in the better eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration or visual fields that subtend an angle of less than 40 degrees in each eye with a prognosis of rapid deterioration
• Stay onsite at a 24/7 facility for training
• Onsite technical training programs to include interpersonal, independent living and employment readiness