What impact is this federal legislation expected to have on statewide infant hearing screening and intervention programs?
The new federal grants to states are expected to be a catalyst to advance newborn screening and intervention programs. They should also help to better coordinate and draw attention to this important issue. Every day in the United States, 33 babies on average (or 12,000 each year) are born with permanent hearing loss, making it the most prevalent birth defect. Passage of the bill comes on the heels of a tremendous surge of new state laws this year. Twenty-two states-more than double the number from last year-have adopted legislation or state-wide programs to support newborn hearing screening and intervention programs.
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