113 STAT. 1501A-278 PUBLIC LAW 106-113—APPENDIX D (c) STATEWIDE NEWBORN AND INFANT HEARING SCREENING, EVALUATION AND INTERVENTION PROGRAMS AND SYSTEMS. — Under the existing authority of the Public Health Service Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the "Secretary"), acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, shall make awards of grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems for the following purposes: (1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems. Early intervention includes referral to schools and agencies, including community, consumer, and parent-based agencies and organizations and other programs mandated by part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which offer programs specifically designed to meet the unique language and communication needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, infants, toddlers, and children. (2) To collect data on statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems that can be used for applied research, program evaluation and policy development. (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DATA MANAGEMENT, AND APPLIED RESEARCH.— (1) CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION.— Under the existing authority of the Public Health Service Act, the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall make awards of grants or cooperative agreements to provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems. The program shall develop standardized procedures for data management and program effectiveness and costs, such as— (A) to ensure quality monitoring of newborn and infant hearing loss screening, evaluation, and intervention programs and systems; (B) to provide technical assistance on data collection and management; (C) to study the costs and effectiveness of newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems conducted by State-based programs in order to answer issues of importance to State and national policyrnakers; (D) to identify the causes and risk factors for congenital hearing loss; (E) to study the effectiveness of newborn and infant hearing screening, audiologic and medical evaluations and intervention programs and systems by assessing the health, intellectual and social developmental, cognitive, and language status of these children at school age; and (F) to promote the sharing of data regarding early hearing loss with State-based birth defects and developmental disabilities monitoring programs for the purpose of identifying previously unknown causes of hearing loss. (2) NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.— Under the existing authority of the Public Health Service Act, the Director of
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