On February 15, 2007, President Bush signed H.J. Res. 20, which provides funding for a variety of federal programs through the end of the fiscal year, in to law. One item of interest to ASHA members is the National Children's Study which received an appropriation of $69 million to support expansion of the study into additional communities across the country.
As a first step in the study's expansion, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will post a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the coming weeks to award contracts to 15 to 20 new study centers. These centers will manage operations in up to 30 additional study locations. Over the next year, preparation will step up for recruitment of participants in the first 105 study centers (called Vanguard Centers) across the United States where it will recruit and enroll eligible participants and track them from before birth until their 21st birthday.
The National Children's Study is led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For further information visit the National Children's Study, or contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, via e-mail at nsnyder@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4257.
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