Vision Screening and Referral
As a community service since 1985, Assistance League of Fullerton annually sponsors a vision screening program for elementary, public and parochial school children at the school sites in the communities of Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, Buena Park, Placentia and Yorba Linda. Assistance League of Fullerton contracts with the Southern California College of Optometry to perform the screenings each school year. Each year, Assistance League of Fullerton also contracts with community optometrists and ophthalmologists. These vision professionals provide additional screening for children that are referred who do not have an optometrist or ophthalmologist free of charge. Assistance League of Fullerton provides financial help for lenses and frames.
Annual vision screenings are performed on all kindergarten, third and sixth graders at 16 public elementary schools, 9 private and parochial schools and students from 1 continuation high school. Approximately 7,000 students are screened yearly and over 1,200 students are found to need further exams. Parents or guardians are notified by school nurses of their child's need to see a professional for additional testing. If any of those students need financial assistance for doctor appointments and glasses, Assistance League of Fullerton sends them a letter offering financial assistance and doctor referrals.
The annual screenings and referrals of children with vision problems are beneficial to the community in many ways. Of greatest importance, it improves a child's view of the world. Children and most parents are not aware of a variety of vision problems until they have been diagnosed and corrected. The effects of corrected vision problems may indirectly help with a child's behavior, demeanor and performance in the classroom as well as at home and everyday life situations. The long term benefits to a child are incalculable. In December 2003, at Sunset Lane School, the 100,000th child was screened. The chapter was recognized for its service to Fullerton students at a school board meeting in January, 2004.
The level of screening that is provided by the Southern California College of Optometry is more extensive and of higher caliber than can be performed by district nurses or school personnel. Children are currently screened for visual acuity, retinoscopy, eye tracking and general health of the eye. Many school districts only check for visual acuity.
Vision Screening is not duplicated by any other group in our community. We are able to provide a service to a large school population by writing and applying for grants, through the funds raised from our thrift store, The Bargain Box, and our annual fund raiser, Taste of the Town. All members participate in the screenings and many members volunteer to help at several screenings. We have about 84 Voting members. Each school screening requires approximately 4 - 5 hours of time depending upon the size of the school. The approximate number of volunteer hours last year was over 575 hours.
The total annual budget for vision screening and referrals is $20,000. In the past 25 years we have contributed over $310,000 to Vision Screening and referrals for the children in our communities. For the school year of 2008 - 2009, the program screened 6,345 children with 1,200 children referred for further testing. We provided financial aid to 70 students for lenses and frames.
