We urgently need your help in gaining additional sponsors so that congressional leaders will take note and consider the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act (H.R. 1198 & S. 1069). As you know, the EHDI grants are federal funds provided to states for the implementation and administration of programs that screen infants for hearing loss before they leave the hospital. The program has been very successful. Currently, over 90% of all infants born in hospitals are screened for hearing loss.
However, there is more work to be done. Fifty percent of those children who are found to have hearing loss are lost to the system. The EHDI reauthorization legislation would expand the program to allow states to fund follow-up services to ensure that babies who have failed their hearing screenings receive full diagnostic evaluations and, if necessary, are enrolled in early intervention programs, as well as promote culturally-sensitive family support services.
Please urge your Representative and Senators to support this important legislation. You can e-mail your legislators about this bill by visiting ASHA's Web site. Simply fill in your name and address and click "Send Message." For more information, please contact Deborah Darcy, ASHA's Director of Grassroots Advocacy, at 800-498-2071, ext. 5612 or via e-mail at ddarcy@asha.org.
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