Children's Vision Foundation (CVF)

Mission Statement

The Children's Vision Foundation identifies children with vision problems that adversely affect a child's ability to succeed in school; in particular, problems that compromise a child's ability to learn effectively. This is accomplished through extensive vision screening in schools and in the wider community and support for children and their families in accessing care when indicated. CVF seeks to raise public awareness of vision disorders through public education on their effects and treatments.

Our Goals

To conduct vision screenings that assess every child's visual abilities.

To provide families and school staff with information that will facilitate appropriate vision referrals when indicated to obtain a comprehensive eye exam by an eye care professional.

To educate communities about vision problems that affect learning.

To organize and train community volunteers to conduct screenings.


The correlation is clear... VISION is integral to a child's success.

Studies show that fully 85 percent of the average child's learning is done visually. Yet almost 25 percent of school-age children have vision problems that can affect their ability to learn. There is a direct connection between undetected vision problems and a child's success in school. In fact, at least 70 percent of juvenile delinquents have vision problems. The correlation is clear: Good vision is integral to a child's academic success.

While many children pass their school's standard vision screening, standard screening is designed to check only for distance vision. These screenings DO NOT check to see if a child can coordinate both eyes as a team, track print consistently across a written page, sustain eye focus across a written page, or adjust focus when looking from near to far—all necessary components of effective learning.

The Children's Vision Foundation (CVF) is a non-profit organization that specializes in identifying and helping children with these types of vision problems. CVF screens 3–5,000 students annually in public and private schools in communities across Oregon. Our goal is to advocate for students to ensure a lifetime of successful learning through optimum visual function.