The mission of the Hilton/Perkins Program is to improve the quality of life for children and youth with visual impairment and multiple disabilities (including deaf-blindness), and their families, through increased educational opportunities. The Program provides leadership, expertise, and resources, in collaboration with other organizations, to improve and expand services through community-oriented national and international efforts.

The purpose of our work is to provide technical assistance at the local level to strengthen and expand services in cooperation with consumers and their families, and programs at the local, national and regional levels. All activities are developed through collaborative planning with local and regional agencies, and are focused on increasing the local capacity to provide services. Whenever possible, local and regional expertise is used in combination with external specialists to carry out activities.

1. To develop, refine and expand educational and support services and programs for children who are multi-handicapped blind and deaf-blind.
2. To strengthen and refine the formal and informal network among service providers, families, and other appropriate service providers and agencies in each region.
3. To expand and strengthen local and regional expertise and professional materials and literature in each region.
4. To create and/or increase public awareness, at all levels of society, of the value of providing support and services to children and youth who are multi-handicapped blind and deaf-blind, and their families.