ARTICLE 1. Orientation Centers [19500. - 19507.]

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC 1.

in effect

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19500. Section 19500.

The department may establish orientation centers for the blind in such locations as may be deemed necessary to provide on a statewide basis the services to be rendered by orientation centers as provided in this article. Such orientation centers as may be established shall be under the jurisdiction and supervision of the department and shall be administered by the Director of Rehabilitation in accordance with the provisions of this article. The department shall make and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary for the administration of such orientation centers in accordance with the provisions of this article.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19501. Section 19501.

Each orientation center established under Sections 19500 to 19506, inclusive, shall be residential in character. Blind persons shall be admitted as residents and trainees in an intensive program designed for maximum vocational and personal rehabilitation and for the preparation of blind persons for useful and remunerative work in trades, professions, private business, private industry, or public service.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19502. Section 19502.

Orientation centers shall provide for short periods of intensive personal and prevocational orientation for blind persons, and for specific vocational training. The program of orientation centers shall include such training as techniques of daily living, techniques of travel, physical conditioning, sensory training, instruction in braille, instruction in skills for persons with disabilities, typing, and business principles and methods, and shall provide for social and vocational diagnostic testing and individual counseling.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19503. Section 19503.

The Director of Rehabilitation shall appoint an administrator for each orientation center for the blind who shall administer and supervise the program at the center in accordance with this article and under the supervision of the Director of Rehabilitation. The administrator of each orientation center for the blind shall be either a sighted or visually impaired person and shall have all of the following minimum qualifications: (a) Four years of full time, paid experience working in a program for the education or rehabilitation of adults who are legally blind, with emphasis on nonvisual living techniques, including, but not limited to, daily living, mobility, and communication skills. At least two years’ experience shall have been in a supervisory or administrative capacity. (b) Proficiency in Braille as a second language. (c) Education equivalent to graduation from college with a bachelor’s degree. Additional qualifying experience may be substituted on a year-for-year basis.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19504. Section 19504.

The staff of an orientation center shall be composed of persons trained to assist blind persons in achieving social and economic independence, and whose qualifications include successful experience in teaching blind persons. The staff shall include as large a proportion as is practicable of visually impaired persons who have achieved outstanding success in adjustment to their disability.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19505. Section 19505.

Each orientation center shall be operated as a unit separate and apart from any state-operated rehabilitation facility. The program of each orientation center shall be closely coordinated with the services of the department, with the home teacher and field service program, and with programs for training teachers and other personnel directed toward serving the blind.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19506. Section 19506.

The department may: (a) Make rules for the government and direction of orientation centers established under this article, and may prescribe conditions for the admission and discharge of trainees having regard to an equitable representation from each county of the state. (b) Designate the subjects which shall be regularly taught and the training which shall be given.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 19507. Section 19507.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the department, in accordance with Section 19007, is the authorized recipient of gifts, bequests, and donations made to the department or to a school or institution administered by the department. (b) There is, within the State Treasury, the Orientation Center for the Blind Trust Fund, which is hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to fiscal years, to the department for allocation to the Orientation Center for the Blind exclusively for the purposes specified in subdivision (c). (c) (1) Moneys in the Orientation Center for the Blind Trust Fund shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, funding of services provided by the department, and shall be utilized only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the gifts or donations made to the fund and for the sole purpose of the betterment of the students of the program at the Orientation Center for the Blind. (2) The department shall consult with the Orientation Center for the Blind Trust Fund Committee, which shall be created by the director, concerning the use of moneys in the fund. (3) The Orientation Center for the Blind Trust Fund Committee shall be composed of three members, all of whom shall be graduates of the Orientation Center for the Blind. The director shall consider for appointment to the committee individuals who are members of groups of advocates for the blind. No more than one member of any group shall be appointed, and appointment shall be from a list of at least two nominees submitted by the group. The director shall appoint one member to be an at-large representative.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026