Get Adobe Reader

Outreach Services

The Outreach Services Division is based in St. Louis and works with families and educators throughout the state.  The division offers professional development opportunities throughout the year.

One of Outreach’s services is the Missouri Deafblind Technical Assistance Project.  Deafblindness is a low-incidence and complex disability, presenting unique service delivery challenges. Missouri provides quality technical assistance and support services to state and local educational agencies, private programs, adult service providers and families of individuals who are deafblind, aged birth through 21 years. Interagency collaboration, through established state and local deafblind task forces, is available to enhance networking and build expertise in the community. Services include: assistance in the identification and tracking of children who are deafblind; professional and parent training; resource and materials on loan; and assistance in assessment, programming and data analysis. For more information, call Susan Bonner, Project Coordinator, Outreach Services, at 314-776-4320, ext. 3255.

The Missouri Instructional Resource Center (MIRC), formerly the APH Materials Center, coordinates the registration of students who are legally blind and manages the Federal Quota funds providing textbooks in Braille and large type and specialized educational materials produced by APH for the students' educational programs. For more information, call Yvonne Ali, MIRC Supervisor, at 314-776-4320, ext. 3256.

The Missouri Statewide Parent Involvement Network (MoSPIN) offers direct in-home services to families of children, age birth to five years, who are visually impaired and who may also have other disabilities.  Services provided are family-focused, involving active parent participation in the child's development.  Parent advisors are provided with comprehensive training sessions on the INSITE Curriculum, which is used during regularly scheduled home visits.  For more information, call Ginny Williams, Lead Parent Advisor, at 573-295-4808.

The Missouri School for the Blind Library Media Center loans library materials to professionals throughout Missouri who work with students who are visually impaired.  The materials that are available for loan include professional books and videos for professionals, and braille library books for use by students throughout Missouri who read Braille.  Opportunities for Missouri students who read Braille, their teachers and LEAs include:

For more information, click on the links above or contact Mary Dingus, MSB librarian, at 314-776-4320, ext. 3257 or Mary.Dingus@msb.dese.mo.gov.