RD159 - Annual Progress Report of the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired on the Effect of the Aging Population on State Agencies


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired provides a broad array of services to visually eligible citizens over the age of 60. Most of these services fall under the department's Rehabilitation Teaching/independent Living program and are designed to give consumers instruction in non-visual techniques and use of adaptive equipment to enable them to maintain their maximum level of independence in the home and community. Most services are delivered directly to consumers in their homes. During SFY 2006 the agency served 2047 Virginians who were over the age of 65; of these, 822 were 85 or older. In the last three years the number of individuals 85 years and older who received agency services increased by 13%.

The department has identified two issues that will impact its delivery of services within the next few years. First, in light of the fact that the leading causes of vision loss are age related, projections of a significant increase in the number of older Virginians in the coming years will lead to a significant increase in the number of individuals who will require services from the agency. Second, tomorrow's seniors will be much more familiar with technology and there will bean increased demand for training for seniors with vision loss in the use of assistive technology that will allow them to continue to use the computer as a tool to maintain their independence.