Profile: Division of Blind Services-West Palm Beach

The Division of Blind Services is Florida's state agency responsible for ensuring that people of all ages in the state who have visual impairments can live independently and achieve their goals. Also, its Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library administers a free library program of Braille and recorded materials for eligible readers

Brief History

In 1941, by an act of the Florida Legislature, the Florida Council for the Blind was created as a state board for blind services under the State Welfare Board. The Council consisted of five members appointed by the Governor. One of these members, by preference, was to be blind. These members were to serve for four years. The Council worked with the State Welfare Board and other agencies in order to provide assistance to the needy blind. One of the first tasks of the Council was to assemble a complete register of the blind in Florida. They provided social activities for the blind in order to develop their social life. They also began research into the causes of blindness and it's treatment.

When the Council for the Blind was founded in 1941, its primary purpose was to provide vocational rehabilitation for partially and totally blind adults. Children and adults who were not eligible for vocational rehabilitation services were provided with social and medical services which still include: counseling to help parents understand and plan for their children's personal adjustment and educational needs, eye medical care, and in some situations, surgical repair.

Before the creation of the Florida Council for the Blind in 1941, the Library of Congress was responsible for distributing talking books and talking book machines to the blind and visually impaired. After it's creation, however, the Florida Council for the Blind was designated by the Library of Congress to distribute these materials. At first, the Kriegshaber Library for the Blind in Atlanta, Georgia offered service to Florida's blind and visually impaired citizens free of charge. However, in 1949, the library decided that it could not handle the large operating costs involved in providing free service to Floridians. As a result, in 1950, the Library of Congress authorized the establishment of the Florida Talking Book Library in Daytona Beach, Florida.

A Vending Stand Program was also established for eligible clients to receive training in how to operate a vending stand.  This allowed blind and partially sighted individuals to enter into a business enterprise that enabled them to be self-supporting members of their communities. Stands in Florida began to open in 1942, the very first being located in the Pensacola Post Office. In just one year, the Florida Council for the Blind opened fifteen stands with the financial support of the Florida Lions Clubs and other civic groups.

In 1967, under the direction of E. J. Manderfield, an electronic training project was started. The purpose of the project was to learn the extent to which blind persons could be trained for jobs in the electronic industry. The first classes began in June of 1968 and the project was very successful. The Manderfield Technical Training Laboratory is now a unit of the Division of Blind Services and is located on the Division's campus in Daytona Beach.

In 1980, the Millard Conklin Center for the Multi-handicapped Blind was dedicated. The Conklin Center is not an organizational unit of the Division of Blind Services, but it is partially funded by the Division and could be considered a partner of the agency. The Conklin and Rehabilitation Center's goals are very similar. They both strive to teach their graduates the skills needed to live independent, self-supporting lives. The center offers its services to Florida citizens ages 16 to 75 who have one or more handicaps in addition to blindness. Located on a nine acre campus adjacent to the Rehabilitation Center, the Conklin Center is a nationally accredited, private, non-profit organization. Since 2000, the center has been known as the Conklin Centers for the Blind.

The history of the Division of Blind Services is very extensive. For more information, see Donald D. Foos and Nancy C. Pack's "History of the Florida Division of Blind Services; First 50 Years (1941-1991)."