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Project Name: Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention (H61)
Applicant Title: Health, Florida Department of
Abstract Text: The purpose of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program project is to enhance the state EHDI system infrastructure to improve language acquisition for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children up to age three and to ensure DHH newborns, infants, and children up to age three receive appropriate and timely services, including hearing screening, diagnosis, and early intervention (EI). Of the 216,189 infants born in Florida during calendar year 2021, 292 were identified with hearing loss after not passing the newborn hearing screening. Of those 292 infants, only 121 were identified timely, by three months of age. 273 of the 292 infants were referred for early intervention services timely, which is by six months of age. Failure to refer by the age of six months occurs because many infants are not diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss until after six months of age. The other reason is delays with reporting the confirmed hearing loss to the EHDI office by the diagnosing audiologist so that the early intervention referral can be made. Lastly, all 292 infants were enrolled in Individual with Disabilities Education Act, Part C (IDEA, Part C) early intervention services. Florida-specific language acquisition outcomes for DHH infants born in 2021 will be calculated by Part C in 2024. Proposed Services: • Establish a coordinated system for data collection and reporting of language acquisition outcomes for DHH children in partnership with EHDI stakeholder organizations. • Report baseline language acquisition outcomes for 3-year-old DHH children. • Develop a coordinated plan to increase language acquisition outcomes of DHH children. • Achieve and maintain at least a 91.77% screening rate of the number of infants that completed a newborn hearing screen no later than one month of age. • Achieve and maintain a minimum rate of 48.98% or increase, the number of infants that completed a diagnostic audiological evaluation no later than three months of age. • Achieve and maintain a minimum rate of 52%, the number of infants identified to be DHH that are enrolled in EI services no later than six months of age. • Expand DHH adult-to-family supports and services provided through a contract with the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (FSDB).