Carroll Center for the Blind Inc.
Serving ALL Ages and ALL Stages of Vision Loss
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Losing one’s sight often leads to depression and emotional distress due to a loss of independence according to the Vision Council's 2015 Low Vision Report. The inability to complete daily tasks such as picking out matching clothes, making one' own breakfast, and driving a car can weigh heavily on a person of any age and lead to deterioration of a person’s mental health due to social isolation and family stress. According to a survey done by Cornell University's Yang Tan Institute, approximately 70% of working age adults with a visual impairment are unemployed. Many of the unemployed blind and visually impaired population are unaware that they are able to start, or continue, working in a professional setting. The Carroll Center works hard at effectively changing all of these staggering statistics through assessment, rehabilitation, orientation and mobility training, education, and assistive technology.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education Services
The Carroll Center for the Blind offers a multitude of direct and consultative services for children and teens who are blind or have low vision that attend public or private school. Our education specialists work to ensure that every developmental and educational milestone is met. A variety of special programs are also offered throughout the year to enhance students’ school experiences in skill areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum.
Vision Rehabilitation Services
Vision rehabilitation programs are designed for adults who have had a significant loss of vision. These intensive programs provide training and support to encourage the physical and emotional adjustments needed to live with
blindness/low vision as well as to provide the skills needed to live and work independently.
Community Services
Community-based instructors teach safe travel skills to individuals of all ages in their homes, communities, job sites, public transportation, and college campuses.
Low Vision Services
Low Vision Therapists provide outpatient assessments and training to support the use of remaining vision with magnification, lighting, and distance-viewing devices. These services take place at our campus, the individual’s home, in their community, their school, or workplace.
Technology Training
Our technology programs include a full spectrum of instruction – from novice to expert – to help prepare people who are blind or visually impaired – including children, working-aged adults, and seniors – to use technology proficiently.
Accessibility Services
With the goal of making the Internet, consumer products, websites, mobile devices, and digital resources available to all persons, especially those with disabilities, the Accessibility Services team has become an established leader in the field. We deliver comprehensive accessibility solutions to organizations of all types and all industries from colleges/universities, healthcare, and banking to retail, e-commerce, and more.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students receiving personal instruction and feedback about their performance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Education Services
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Direct and consult services for children and teens who are blind or have low vision that attend public or private school. We work to ensure that every developmental and educational milestone is met.
Number of people provided assistive technology
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Adults
Related Program
Technology Training
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our technology programs include a full spectrum of instruction from novice to expert to help prepare people who are blind or visually impaired of all ages to use technology proficiently.
Number of braille books distributed to blind and visually impaired children and their families
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Education Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The Center manages the Commonwealth's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's state mandated service of acquiring, maintaining, and distributing instructional materials.
Number of older adults being supported to live at home through home care, assistive technology, and/or personal support plans
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Community Services
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of clients for whom the transition plan is fully implemented (including receipt of all services as planned)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The Carroll Center for the Blind serves approximately 1300 clients per year in our campus-based, community-based, employment-base, school-based and home-based locations.
Average length of stay (in months)
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Many of our adult clients stay on our Newton-based campus for any of the following programs: technology, rehabilitation, workforce development, personal management, social networking and recreation.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our goal is to help blind and visually impaired children, adults, and senior citizens live a productive, healthy and independent life.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our programs provide practical skills training for over 3,500 clients a year. Approx. 20% of our staff members are blind or visually impaired, and they work at all levels in the agency.
• We send Teachers of the Visually Impaired to over 80 school districts across New England to help students participate fully in their classrooms.
• We offer summer programs for youth to ensure they have the opportunities for recreation, education and internships that their sighted peers have.
• At our residential rehabilitation facility, blind adults learn how to travel safely, manage everyday tasks, and re-enter the workforce with the skills they need to succeed.
• We offer group and one-on-one computer training.
• Our specialists meet 700 clients a year in their homes, communities, and workplace.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Carroll Center's expertise is partly based in its longevity. Since 1936, the Center has been at the forefront of innovative ways to help the blind and visually impaired navigate their world. The Center's first director, Father Carroll, found that teaching fencing helped clients develop the balance, dexterity and special awareness to use a cane to travel safely. Similarly, our Mobility and Orientation specialists still incorporate the lessons of Robert Amendola, who used sound localization, a method of training the newly blind on how to localize sound and make sense of that information. We were the first organization to offer mobility training in clients' homes, communities, and schools. And early on we recognized the impact technology could have on our clients' lives.
Our staff members are professionals with advanced degrees and include Orientation and Mobility Specialists, Rehabilitation Counselors, Teachers of the Visually Impaired and Low Vision Specialists.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
An 85 year old organization, the Center has many accomplishments and is always adding to and improving programming. A timeline of some of the Center's achievements are as follows:
1952: Started the first Community Mobility Program to teach travel skills to blind people in their homes.
1965: Opened St. Raphael's Geriatric Center, the first residential center for seniors.
1976: Established a Low Vision Clinic.
1978: Started the Outdoor Enrichment Program (OEP) to teach adaptive techniques for participating in sports and recreation.
1984: Offered the country's first adaptive computer training program for the blind.
1985: Added a summer program, Youth-in-Transition, for blind teenagers to learn independent living skills.
1987: Established the International Exchange Program to provide advanced training for teachers and administrators serving the blind.
1988: Developed the Vision Use in Employment Program to help employees with vision loss retain their jobs.
1991: Added a Job Training Program, offering training in medical transcription, customer service and telemarketing.
1992: The Carroll Center's Sail Blind team represented the U.S. against 7 nations in the first World Blind Sailing Championship in New Zealand.
1993: Educational Services added to Carroll Center services.
1999: Developed internships as part of the Job Market Preparation program.
2000: Hosted first New England Regional Braille Challenge, a braille reading and writing contest.
2002: Opened the Rachel Rosenbaum Technology Center to provide world-wide accessible technology training to all blind persons.
2006: Added Carroll Kids summer camp to offer instruction and social experiences to further develop independence skills in and out of the classroom.
2009: The Carroll Store becomes the largest adaptive device store for persons with vision loss in the Northeast.
2011: Began co-sponsoring a Disability Job Fair.
2011: Opened an Apple Training Lab for instruction in the use of the latest Apple technologies.
2012: Web Accessibility Services launched to provide consulting services to companies, government agencies and schools to evaluate accessibility.
2012: the Center's senior in-home rehabilitation program received a Certificate of Appreciation for Excellence in Falls Prevention Work from the National Council on Aging.
2014: Established a Vocational Readiness Program, offering focused computer training for adults re-entering the workforce.
2015: Introduced weekend programs for teens to introduce a range of assistive technologies.
2015: Added a specialized computing course for students entering college.
2015: Joined with Project SEARCH®, a national, business-led, workforce development program for individuals with disabilities.
2019: Launched the eCarroll Technology Training program, providing distance instruction of various technologies through a web-based platform.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We share the feedback we received with the people we serve, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Carroll Center for the Blind Inc.
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
Ms. Carol Covell
Formerly, Chief Nursing Officer and Executive Vice President for Patient Services and Quality Care at Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Term: 2017 - 2025
Arthur O'Neill
Retired
Carol A Covell
Formerly, Chief Nursing officer and Executive Vice President for Patient Services and Quality Care at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. Previous business owner, Microendo Technologies, Limited
Bruce Howell
Retired, Former Accessibility Manager, the Carroll Center for the Blind
Rosellen Sullivan
Formerly Vice President of Business Development and Relationship Management
Peter Chinetti
Retired CFO, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Umesh A Kurpad
Chief Financial Officer, Point32
Taraneh Satvat
President & CEO, MIS Technologies Corporation
John Schwartz
CEO & President, AcuityBio Corporation
Antoine Junior Melay
Vice President, Windwalker Group
Martha Steele
Bureau of Environmental Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Jon C Cowen
Partner, Donovan Hatem LLP
Robert Sanders
Senior Vice President, Woodstock
Christopher Andreoli
Atrius Health
Eileen Y. Lee Breger
Attorney, Bowditch & Dewey LLP
Jessica Fewkes, MD
Director, Mohs and Cutaneous Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Kim Holloway
Northeastern University Research Department
Arthur O'Neil
Retired Vice President/Interim President, The Carroll Center for the Blind
Robb Suchecki
AJ Gallagher
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/13/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.