222

The Florida Agencies Serving the Blind (FASB) is an association of 16 private, non-profit members that raise local funds each year to serve a large population of blind and low vision people at all age and demographic groups across the state of Florida. An important segment of that population are blind children aged 5 to 13. Florida Agencies cannot serve all the children with the funds we are able to generate privately. FASB has been supported with additional funds from the Florida Legislature for six years. We need that financial support from the State to serve these children and decrease our wait list of services for our visually impaired and blind children. 

In 2016, our initial year of operation, the Legislature funded $1 million in recurring funding. Since then, it has fluctuated. The Legislature provided $1,000,000 in funding ($500,000 in recurring and $500,000 in non-recurring) for FY 2022. Our funding flows through the DOE Division of Blind Services and FASB contracts out all the funding to the 16 nonprofit service providers to serve visually impaired and blind children. 

Past appropriation history for Florida Association of Agencies Serving the Blind

o   2016:  $1M o   2020: $800,000
o   2017: $750,000 o   2021: $500,000
o   2018: $1M o   2022: $1,000,000
o   2019: $1M o   2023: $2.2M

FASB Quick Facts

  • 16 private sector partners—nonprofit, accredited agencies serving the blind throughout Florida.
  • Contracted for 100, served 252 blind children (and their families) in all 67 Florida counties to attain skills to keep pace academically and socially with sighted peers in schools.
  • Through 11 different Blind Service Lighthouses we offer Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) instruction to children ages 5 to 12 who are blind or visually impaired. Certified instructors use specific assessments and skills to compensate for effects of blindness on academic achievement, social integration and making vocational goals.
  • 9 nationally recognized curriculum areas that include braille, technology, safe travel skills (white cane), independent living skills and career preparation.
  • Parent/student satisfaction rate consistently above 90% year over year since inception in 2015.

2023 Appropriation Request for Florida Association of Agencies Serving the Blind

  • Continued Recurring $500,000.00 plus an additional $500,000.00
  • $1,200,000.000 in non-recurring for operations and education
  • A total of $2,200,000 in State Funds
  • Local match from FASB members: $1,000,000
  • Total FASB Budget for services, education, and operations $2,200,000.00
Legislative Initiative

About

The FASB Children’s Program offers Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) instruction to children in K-12 who are blind or visually impaired. The year-round program takes place at members’ facilities and at community sites during non-school days, Saturdays, and summer months. FAASB agencies use the nationally recognized, evidence-based Expanded Core Curriculum’s nine core areas to secure academic success and the “real life experience” that is essential to future employability. This curriculum goes beyond what is available in public schools and addresses the inherent social isolation in public schools by bringing the children from an entire county together in one place. The program includes parent support groups to offer support, advocacy and sharing solutions to child-rearing challenges. Increased funding is requested from new sources, not by moving funds from other Division of Blind Services priorities, in order to preserve the DBS match for Federal dollars applied to Florida’s blind working age and seniors (although DOE has not requested an increase in many years).

444
Legislative Initiative
Legislative Initiative
Legislative Initiative

Number of children served by year

2016-2017 120 2020-2021 223*
2017-2018 154 2021-2022 252
2018-2019 200 2021-2022 132 (as of October 31, 2022)
2019-2020 266*

*Agencies were only able to provide services for 6 months of the fiscal year due to COVID)

Specifics

Expanded Core Curriculum Activities/Instruction includes:
  • Compensatory Academic skills including braille/magnifiers, organization, listening, etc.
  • Orientation and Mobility (safe travel skills with a white cane);
  • Social Interaction skills;
  • Recreation and Leisure skills;
  • Independent Living Skills (cooking, hygiene, money and budgeting, time mgmt.);
  • Assistive Technology—screen readers or magnification for computers, etc.;
  • Career Education (experiential introduction to various careers and professions);
  • Self-Determination (self-advocacy, planning for adulthood);
  • Sensory Efficiency skills (touch, hearing, smell, taste, proprioception/balance).