…wearing their glasses on a bulletin board, she said, and none of them have been bullied. She attributes this to the way they promote the “coolness” of wearing them.
But the program still has to overcome a lack of cooperation from some parents, who often fail to fill out necessary paperwork. Families can provide a Medicaid number to cover the cost of the exam, for example, but many do not, or the number comes back wrong or illegible. The cost is covered with or without a Medicaid number, but Worthy-Owens said some parents did not want their children to get glasses even after they were identified, either because they fear the cost or resist revealing other personal information to the school. “Trust was an issue,” she said. “You have to have the relationship with the community in order for the consent process to work.” Worthy-Owens said she often has to persuade reluctant parents to fill out the one-page consent form, which asks for the child’s name, gender, birthdate, address, school and Medicaid identification number, as well as the parents’ names and phone number. Next year, the form will not ask for a Medicaid number so fewer parents will hesitate to turn it in. If the program can’t overcome hurdles like these, says Bob Slavin, who leads Johns Hopkins center for education reform, Vision for Baltimore doesn’t “have a prayer” of getting anywhere near its goal of reaching 20,000 in-need children.
The project is expensive and relies on philanthropy. Vision To Learn pays about $100 per child in each community—this covers each area’s mobile clinic, eyeglasses, vision tests, directors’ oversight and optometry team. The mobile clinic alone costs around $115,000—$100,000 to buy and renovate the van and $15,000 for medical equipment. The nonprofit receives revenue from insurance reimbursement and private donations. Baltimore’s health department pays $250,000 annually in salaries for its three screeners and office staff. The research team meets their own costs from donations and grants.
“We all know the need is there,” said Austin Beutner, chairman and founder of Vision To Learn. “We have a lot to come, not only in Baltimore.”