NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Mission: The New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI) works to promote and provide services in the areas of education, employment, independence, and eye health through informed choice and partnership with persons who are blind, deaf-blind and visually impaired, their families, and the community.

Eligibility: CBVI services and programs are available to all visually impaired NJ residents without regard to other disabling conditions, gender, age, race, nationality, or religious and sexual orientation. A person may be eligible for services if they are experiencing a visual impairment that is affecting their daily life activities.

Services and Programs

Educational Services provides instruction, resources, and other supportive services to eligible children who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired, from birth to 21 years of age, and their families to ensure equal classroom participation.

Services include information and training for families of infants and preschool children; literacy enhancement; instruction in special areas; and assistance with the acquisition of assistive equipment and devices, textbooks, and other instructional materials from the George F. Meyer Instructional Resource Center.

Vocational Rehabilitation provides training, counseling and other supportive services that enable people who are blind, deaf-blind and visually impaired to develop, acquire or update skills that can enable them to enter the workforce and maintain employment.

Services include vocational evaluation; counseling; training; job placement; post-employment services; college counseling/ support; vending facility and business enterprise program; marketing of home-crafted products; high school transitional services; and training at the Joseph Kohn Training Center in New Brunswick.

Independent Living Skills Services provides training designed to help people of any age who are blind, deaf-blind or visually impaired to adjust to their vision loss and gain the skills in the activities of daily living that they will need to lead a productive and independent life.

Services may include: in home instruction for independence in daily-living activities and home management, including childcare; instruction in methods for orientation, mobility and independent travel within the home, community, work, and school environment; case management and instruction on adaptive equipment and devices, such as insulin syringes and talking glucometers to monitor healthcare and training in Braille, cell phone use and other communication methods; peer support groups for people experiencing vision loss and referral to helpful community resources.

Project BEST (Better Eye-Health Services and Treatment) provides free vision screening, eye health education and referrals for necessary services for children and adults.

Services may include: Vision screening for preschool and school-age children; eye health nursing; on-site screening at institutions and in communities by invitation; diabetic outreach program; and other eye screening programs which target historically underserved populations (i.e., minorities, the elderly, migrant farmworkers, etc.).

Additional Services: People can request any of the following through their CBVI caseworker – voter registration applications; income tax certification letters; referral to self-help peer support groups; referrals to community-based programs and services; reduced fare applications for public transportation; and assessment low and high technical aids, appliances and devices designed specifically to help people with vision loss.

Website: http://www.cbvi.nj.gov/

Email: AskCBVI@dhs.nj.gov

Phone: 973-648-3333 / 877-685-8878

Representative: Pamela Gaston, Coordinator, Public Affairs

Representative Email: pamela.gaston@dhs.nj.gov

Representative Phone: 973-900-2564

Address: NJCBVI, 153 Halsey St. 6th Floor, P.O. Box 47017, Newark, NJ 07102

Service Area: State of New Jersey

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