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BSBP Program Overviews

BSBP Program Overviews

  1. Bureaus & Agencies
  2. Bureau of Services for Blind Persons
  3. Broad Overview

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

Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation

  • Working age 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
  • Desire to be employed
  • At least one functional barrier to employment

    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

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