Don't show this message again
42 U.S. Code § 280g-1. Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment regarding deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, infants, and young children
(a) Statewide newborn, infant, and young child hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systemsThe Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall make awards of grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide newborn, infant, and young child hearing screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems, and to assist in the recruitment, retention, education, and training of qualified personnel and health care providers (including, as appropriate, education and training of family members), for the following purposes:
(1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of statewide programs and systems for hearing screening of newborns, infants, and young children (referred to in this section as “children”); prompt evaluation and diagnosis of children referred from screening programs; and appropriate educational, audiological, medical, and communication (or language acquisition) interventions (including family support), for children identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing, consistent with the following:
(A)
Early intervention includes referral to, and delivery of, information and services by organizations such as schools and agencies (including community, consumer, and family-based agencies), in health care settings (including medical homes for children), and in programs mandated by part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.], which offer programs specifically designed to meet the unique language and communication needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
(B)
Information provided to families should be accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date, and evidence-based, as appropriate, to allow families to make important decisions for their children in a timely manner, including decisions with respect to the full range of assistive hearing technologies and communications modalities, as appropriate.
(C)
Programs and systems under this paragraph shall offer mechanisms that foster family-to-family and deaf and hard-of-hearing consumer-to-family supports.
(2)
To continue to provide technical support to States, through one or more technical resource centers, to assist in further developing and enhancing State early hearing detection and intervention programs.
(3)
To identify or develop efficient models (educational and medical) to ensure that children who are identified as deaf or hard-of-hearing through screening receive follow-up by qualified early intervention providers or qualified health care providers (including those at medical homes for children), and referrals, as appropriate, including to early intervention services under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.]. State agencies shall be encouraged to effectively increase the rate of such follow-up and referral.