Iowa Department for the Blind

Iowa Department for the Blind
Iowa Department of the Blind Headquarters
Agency overview
Formed1925 (1925)
JurisdictionState of Iowa
Headquarters
Employees104
Annual budget$17 m USD (2026)
Agency executive
  • Stacy Cervenka, Director
Websitehttps://blind.iowa.gov/

The Iowa Department for the Blind is an agency of the Iowa state government, headquartered in Des Moines. The agency serves citizens who are blind or low vision in the state.

History

The Iowa Commission for the Blind (later renamed the Iowa Department for the Blind) was established on April 2, 1925, following an appearance before the Iowa General Assembly by author and disability rights advocate Helen Keller. In early February 1925, Keller, accompanied by her teacher Anne Sullivan and Charles B. Hays, director of the American Foundation for the Blind, testified in support of a bill introduced by Senator Harry Cook White of Tama County.[1] The legislation called for the creation of a state committee to oversee the training and education of blind Iowans, and its passage that April formally created the Iowa Commission for the Blind.[2]

The agency's founding was part of a broader early twentieth century movement to expand state-level services for blind and visually impaired citizens, with an emphasis on employment and educational equality rather than custodial care.[2]

In 1958, Kenneth Jernigan moved to Iowa to become director of the agency.[3] While there, Jernigan developed and successfully implemented a new model for rehabilitating the blind known as "structured discovery." Eventually, Jernigan's model was utilized by rehabilitation programs around the world.[4][3]

After Jernigan had been in Iowa for only two weeks, he wrote a detailed letter to Governor Herschel Loveless outlining the deplorable conditions he had found in the agency upon his arrival. He listed countless critical needs of the agency to be addressed.[4] In 1968, Jernigan was presented with a citation from President Lyndon Johnson for his work at the agency. Harold Russell of the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped visited Des Moines on behalf of the president to present the award. In his speech, Russell said, "If a person must be blind, it is better to be blind in Iowa than in any other place in the nation, or the world!"[5]

During this period, tensions grew between the agency and the Iowa Braille and Sight-Saving School in Vinton, then under the Iowa Board of Regents. In 1969, Jernigan and the agency sought legislation to transfer authority over the Braille School from the Regents to the IDB, arguing that blind-led vocational programming should extend to the education of blind children. The 1969 effort, though initially gaining support from the governor and a number of state legislators, was defeated in early 1970 following opposition from the school's administration, alumni, and the newly formed Iowa affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. The controversy contributed to a period of sustained public criticism of Jernigan and the Commission through the 1970s, including newspaper allegations regarding the agency's operations, and Jernigan resigned as agency head in 1978 after 20 years in the post.[6]

In February 2023, Governor Kim Reynolds' state government reorganization bill, Senate Study Bill 1123, made changes to the agency that drew opposition from blind and deaf Iowans. The new legislation gave the governor direct appointment power over the department's director and eliminated the agency board's authority to appoint its own officers, a structure that had been in place for nearly a century. At the time, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa argued the change would politicize the agency and undermine its tradition of being led by people knowledgeable about blindness.[7][8]

Programs

The Iowa Department for the Blind provides a broad range of services designed to help blind and low vision Iowans live independently and achieve competitive employment, funded primarily through state and federal funding so that most services are offered at no cost to eligible residents.[9][10] Its core offerings include the Orientation Center, vocational rehabilitation and employment services, the Business Enterprise Program, and independent living services.[11][12][13] The agency also operates the Iowa Library for the Blind and Print Disabled with over 88,000 book titles.[14][15] In addition, the agency offers technology services to help clients access adaptive tools, and provides services for youth and families to support younger Iowans and their households.[16][17][18]

Leadership

The IDB is led by a 3-member board of commissioners with a director as agency head, appointed by the Governor of Iowa (subject to confirmation by the Iowa Senate).[19][20]

Directors

The below individuals have served as agency head since its founding in 1925.

  1. Ethel Towne Holmes (1925–1956)
  2. Malcolm Jasper (1957)
  3. Kenneth Jernigan (1958–1978)
  4. John Taylor (1978–1982)
  5. Nancy A. Norman (1982–1984)
  6. R. Creig Slayton (1985–2001)
  7. Allen C. Harris (2001–2008)
  8. Karen Keninger (2008–2012); later appointed as director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
  9. Richard L. Sorey (2012–2016)
  10. Emily Wharton (2016–2024)
  11. Stacy Cervenka (2025–present)

References

  1. ↑ "Senator Harry Cook White". www.legis.iowa.gov. Iowa Legislative Services Agency. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  2. 1 2 "Living DeafBlind in Iowa | Iowa PBS". www.iowapbs.org. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  3. 1 2 Omvig, James H. (2005-03-01). The Blindness Revolution: Jernigan in His Own Words. IAP. ISBN 978-1-60752-473-1.
  4. 1 2 "Advocacy: Kenneth Jernigan | Iowa Department for the Blind". blind.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  5. ↑ "Biography of Dr. Kenneth Jernigan - 1926 to 1998". www.blind.net. Retrieved 2022-02-21.
  6. ↑ Miller, Brian Richard (2013). Speaking for themselves: The blind civil rights movement and the battle for the Iowa Braille School. The University of Iowa.
  7. ↑ Opsahl, Robin (2023-02-13). "Blind and deaf Iowans oppose changes in Reynolds' agency reorganization bill • Iowa Capital Dispatch". Iowa Capital Dispatch. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  8. ↑ Sostaric, Katarina (2023-02-23). "Blind Iowans concerned about governor's proposal to appoint Department for the Blind director". Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  9. ↑ Payne, Marissa. "Protesters oppose Iowa Department for the Blind's changes to state's blindness training". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  10. ↑ Vaughan, C. Edwin (1993). The Struggle of Blind People for Self-determination: The Dependency-rehabilitation Conflict : Empowerment in the Blindness Community. C.C. Thomas. ISBN 978-0-398-05854-8.
  11. ↑ Kremer, Kelsey. "Photos: Iowa Department for the Blind teaches people losing their sight how to navigate Des Moines by cane". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  12. ↑ "Iowan explains why Department of the Blind training changes hurt Iowans losing vision". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  13. ↑ Sostaric, Katarina (2025-09-17). "Blind Iowans protest changes to a state program that trains people with limited vision to live independently". Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  14. ↑ Richardson, Sandy (2002-02-12). "Department for blind can help, even if person isn't legally blind". The Daily Reporter. p. 8.
  15. ↑ McVeety, M., Hicklin, M., & Slayton, J. A. (2011). Oral History Interview with Mavis McVeety about Iowa Department for the Blind Library Services.
  16. ↑ "Programs & Services | Department for the Blind". blind.iowa.gov. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  17. ↑ Leibs, Andrew (1999-12-30). A Field Guide for the Sight-Impaired Reader: A Comprehensive Resource for Students, Teachers, and Librarians. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-0-313-00488-9.
  18. ↑ Sardegna, Jill; Shelly, Susan (2002). The Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vision Impairment. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8160-6623-0.
  19. ↑ Opsahl, Robin (2024-07-16). "Iowa Department of the Blind Director Emily Wharton resigns • Iowa Capital Dispatch". Iowa Capital Dispatch. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  20. ↑ Marchel Hoff, Maya (2025-09-16). "Protesters criticize changes to Iowa Department for the Blind training program". The Gazette. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
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