Our Vision
Our vision is that all children have the opportunity to develop their best possible vision.
Our Mission
Our mission is to build a statewide, systematic approach to vision care for children that is:
- universal
- comprehensive
- cost effective
- collaborative
- multidisciplinary
- dynamic
- sustainable
- evidence based
Our History
In 2009, Massachusetts was selected by Prevent Blindness to be one of five pilot states of the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health to participate in an award from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. This led to the establishment of the Children’s Vision Massachusetts coalition. Since conception, , the group has worked to develop comprehensive vision services and systems for children throughout the state of Massachusetts.
Children’s Vision Massachusetts brochure
We are a coalition made up of parents, nurses, pediatricians, educators, public health professionals, optometrists and ophthalmologists. In our work, we try to see the world through the “eyes of a child.”
Goals
- To develop a cohesive system for vision screening and care for children birth to age 18 years (birth to age 22 years for children with special needs)
- To develop training programs to ensure that the tools utilized for assessments/screenings, and the process by which they are used, is of high quality and consistent across screeners
- To launch community education campaigns to build awareness of the new state-wide system and the importance of vision screening, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing care for typically developing children, emphasizing the importance of immediate comprehensive eye exams at the earliest possible time for children with special needs and other developmental concerns
- To develop and build alignment for guidelines and recommendations for providers, parents, early intervention programs, pre-schools, elementary and secondary schools
- To achieve dramatic improvement in completed referrals for eye exams and adherence to prescribed treatment