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• Enable blind North Carolina citizens to live safely and comfortably by providing quality and timely services to consumers with vision loss.
• Maximize the independence of blind North Carolina residents by providing training to meet their demands of daily living, preventing blindness, and restoring vision. Assist citizens with significant vision loss to become successfully employed in a career of their choice through vocational, rehabilitative services, and training for employment opportunities.
• Provide employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired citizens of North Carolina through the operation of vending and on-site food locations throughout the state.
• Provide a variety of support, including advocacy, information, referral and skills development to deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind individuals, their families, and local agencies through the seven regional centers, resulting in increased access to community resources and enhanced economic independence.
• Provide relay services to all North Carolinians with hearing loss and speech impairment, assuring equal access to the telecommunications system.
• Provide adaptive equipment to ensure low income deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind and speech impaired individuals have equal access to the telecommunications and emergency alerting systems.
• Conduct outreach and training activities to enhance awareness of available services and build capacity to help ensure full utilization of the equipment distributed for the telecommunications system. Intended recipients of these activities include Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind North Carolinians and the agencies (such as social services, healthcare, law enforcement and emergency alert/response) serving this population.

DSB will participate in outreach activities and advertising opportunities on a statewide basis that will reach populations who would benefit from the agency's services.

DSB will measure quality and timeliness of services in Independent Living and assistive technology to determine if additional assistive technology and Independent Living rehabilitation counselor positions are needed.

DSB will purchase and train assistive technology staff on the most current technology that will promote employment for visually impaired individuals and that will increase efficiency for the staff in accomplishing their job duties.

DSB will replace their outdated electronic services system with a web-based database to maintain records and track billing.

DSDHH will increase coordination and collaboration with state-level and statewide agencies designed to enhance programs and services provided by local agencies (such as social services, healthcare, law enforcement, emergency alert/response).

DSDHH will increase production and distribution of informational and training materials (DVDs, brochures, fact sheets, website) to service providers at local agencies (e.g. social services, healthcare, law enforcement, emergency alert/response).

DSDHH will replace a legacy-based database system with a new generation system with enhanced collection and reporting capacities.

DSDHH will enhance its planning and evaluation component, with the goal to improve its programs to meet evolving demands for services.

DSDHH will enhance its bandwidth and Information Technology infrastructure designed to assure communication with Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind customers, using specialized adaptive technology.

Via training, consultation and coordination of services, DSDHH's proposed Statewide Deaf and Deaf-Blind Program Coordinator will enhance the knowledge and skills of direct services providers not only at this Division's regional centers but also at many different agencies (such as social services, healthcare, law enforcement, emergency alert/response and the judicial system) in serving the Deaf and Deaf-Blind population.

• Division Summary
• Department Summary
• Consumers Served in Independent Living Program
• Outreach Activities
• DSDHH Clients Served
• DSDHH Agency Staff Served at Such Agencies as Social Services, Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Emergency Alert/Response and the Judicial System
• Adaptive Telecommunications Equipment Approved for Distribution