Mission
FAASB, the Florida Association for Agencies Serving the Blind's mission is to serve as a united voice and be the organizational support empowering private agencies serving Floridians with blindness and visual impairment to provide state-of-the-art professional vision rehabilitation services which enhance the quality of individual and community life.

HIstory
The Florida Association of Agencies Serving the Blind (FAASB), began in 1972 at the urging of Murdock Martin, Executive Director of Florida Council for the Blind (now known as the Division of Blind Services). At its inception, FAASB membership included only four private agencies: Lighthouse for the Blind of the Palm Beaches, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind, Independent Living for the Adult Blind (Jacksonville), and Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind. Mr. Martin believed that FAASB would provide an avenue for dialogue between his agency and the private agencies that existed at that time. He was correct in his assumption and together both the Florida Council for the Blind and the private agencies for the blind began a partnership that proved to be a benefit for persons who were blind or visually impaired across the State of Florida.

Through the efforts of this partnership, services have grown through the administration of 16 private agencies whose mission is solely to serve persons who are blind or visually impaired. The spectrum of services has also been expanded over the years. Initially, agencies operated as workshops to provide employment opportunities for persons with visual impairments who could not obtain employment in a segregated employment community of non-disabled workers. As employment options expanded in the community, so did services. Agencies began to focus on rehabilitation services such as orientation and mobility and independent living skills training. Today, most agencies prepare persons with employment skills such as computer, word processing and spreadsheet skills.

FAASB has been the leader in the nation in setting standards and best practices for services to the blind. FAASB itself was incorporated as a private, not-for-profit 501(c)3 on May 16, 1988 with 13 private not-for-profit agencies serving the blind as it’s membership. FAASB set standards for membership to include that agencies must be accredited and undergo a yearly financial audit. FAASB has continued to put an emphasis on quality services provided by certified staff.

In April of 1995, FAASB stepped up its legislative advocacy efforts by contracting with consultants to provide members with legislative bill tracking and updates of issues relating to blindness. It was at this time, that FAASB members became more active participants in forging legislation that would enhance services to blind persons such as the Blind Babies Bill passed in 1999 to provide approximately one million dollars in additional services to children 0-6 who were blind or visually impaired.

In November 2005, the association hired its first executive director.

To this day, FAASB, has a voice in legislative issues and its members are sought out by local legislators for input on issues pertaining to blindness.

Vision
It is the vision of FAASB to establish itself as the premier provider network of comprehensive direct rehabilitation services for persons with blindness and visual impairments in the State of Florida.

Values
The core values of FAASB are as follows:
• Professionalism – FAASB members strive to demonstrate a commitment to excellence, collegiality, mutual respect, cooperation, consistency, consumer service and appropriately credentialed staff.
• Stewardship – FAASB members see it as their duty to maximize, nourish, cultivate and multiply the resources available for the delivery of vision rehabilitation services to residents of the State of Florida.
• Facilitation – FAASB members believe that the people they serve can and do make the best choices for themselves if they have the resources necessary to make effective choices.
• Integrity/accountability – This is the alignment of FAASB’s members’ guiding statements with all of their actions and the acknowledgement that FAASB has a responsibility to the public trust.
• Leadership – FAASB provides leadership through collaboration and modeling.
• Diversity – FAASB believes that there is a genuine and unique strength that comes from the appreciation of differences in background, origin, orientation, ability and point of view.

Goals
• Increase resources available for vision rehabilitation services.
• Increase the number of Floridians served and the menu of vision rehabilitation services offered statewide including outreach to underserved communities and populations.
• Increase community awareness of the implications of vision loss, the services available for those with vision loss and the benefits those services offer.
• Continue to find ways to enhance the quality of direct service delivery.
• Provide and encourage advocacy.
• Increase the pool of qualified vision rehabilitation professionals in the State of Florida.
• Facilitate interagency community and collaboration with the Division of Blind Services and other state agencies, consumer groups, member agencies and state and national associations.

Need Statement
• At least 10 million people are blind in the US today, according to American Foundation for the Blind.
• Every seven minutes, someone in the United States loses their vision
• In Florida, the incidence is 10 per 1000 according to the National Eye Institute, or twice the national rate.
• Much of the higher prevalence of blindness and visual impairment among Floridians is attributable to the large and growing elderly population in our state. A recent study performed by Duke University tells us that 50% of elders have one of three eye conditions which can lead to blindness: glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration.
• Increased survival rates for prematurely born infants also are having an impact. A recent study indicates that, among babies surviving premature births (22-25 weeks gestation), 46% had severe or moderate disabilities including vision loss.
• Due to rapid population growth in particular among seniors, vision loss in Florida can be expected to far outpace the national average over the next two decades
• Blind and visually impaired elders who do not have access to professional Vision Rehabilitation services face increased risk for:
   o Entry into Assisted Living programs
   o Emergency Room visits due to falls, etc.
   o Lost economic productivity of family members who must provide home care
• The unemployment rate among working aged blind people in the U.S. is 70%

Program Justification: Professional Vision Rehabilitation and FAASB
• Vision Rehabilitation is a specialized array of services which enable people who are blind and visually impaired to participate fully in home life, education, community activities and employment. Independent travel training ( Orientation and Mobility), alternative communication skills (Braille and computer technology , for example), Low Vision Services, and skills needed to cook, shop and manage a household are provided by nationally certified blindness professionals in FAASB agencies across the state.
• Member agencies of FAASB are accredited by the National Accreditation council on Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Impaired (NAC).
• On the national level, FAASB collaborates with other major organizations in the interest of specialized, professional, and accountable Vision Rehabilitation services. These include the Association for Education of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation Professionals (ACVREP), the National Council of Private Agencies Serving the blind and Visually Impaired (NCPABVI), and the National Vision Rehabilitation Association (NVRA).
• Vision Rehabilitation Services provided by FAASB agencies reduce the economic and human cost of blindness. Outcomes of these essential services include reduced unemployment, reduced admissions to Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes, reduced emergency room admissions, and increased economic productivity among family members who might otherwise provide home care for loved ones who have lost vision.