A Sure-fire Return on Investment

For every state dollar appropriated to the Iowa Department for the Blind, the federal government provides another $4 in matching funds.

Key IDB Services:

• Vocational Rehabilitation
• Education and job placement
• Avg. hourly earnings $16.22 for SFY2010
• Independent Living
• Maintaining independence in own homes
• Savings of more than $36,000 a year in nursing home costs
• Library for the Blind & Physically Handicapped
• Textbooks and school materials produced for blind students statewide
• Equal access to information for blind Iowans

Rehabilitating blind and visually impaired Iowans pays:

• A blind person who receives $1,004 monthly in Social Security Disability Insurance at the age of 25 will receive more than $480,000 by the age of 65
• An employed blind person earning $16.22 an hour will pay over $250,000 in state and federal taxes throughout her working life
• The earnings of a blind Iowan, employed following training and services from the Iowa Department for the Blind, can result in over $730,000 return on investment to taxpayers