Applicants must meet the following federally required criteria to be eligible to participate in the Idaho-National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program.

Verification of Disability: Applicants must meet the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) definition of Deaf-Blind which states an individual is Deaf-Blind when they:

1. Have a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with corrective lenses, or a field defect such that the peripheral diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than 20 degrees, or a progressive visual loss having a prognosis leading to one or both these conditions;
2. Have a chronic hearing impairment so severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification, or a progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this condition; and
3. Have the combination of impairments described in 1 and 2 above cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining employment.

Income Eligibility: Applicant must meet income eligibility requirements that do not exceed 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG). NDBEDP applicants are required to provide proof of income.

2020 US Federal Poverty Guidelines 48 Contiguous States and DC

Source: adapted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

(https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines)