Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 1999

Summary: Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act of 1999 - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems; and (2) 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. Requires the National Institutes of Health to continue a program of research and development on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates Federal coordination and collaboration with State and local agencies, consumer groups, national medical, health, and education specialty organizations, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals and their families, qualified professional personnel, and related commercial industries.  Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening 
and Intervention Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND INTERVENTIONS FOR NEWBORNS AND 
              INFANTS WITH HEARING LOSS.

    (a) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act only, the following 
terms in this section are defined as follows:
            (1) Hearing screening.--Newborn and infant hearing 
        screening consists of objective physiologic procedures to 
        detect possible hearing loss and to identify newborns and 
        infants who, after rescreening, require further audiologic and 
        medical evaluations.
            (2) Audiologic evaluation.--Audiologic evaluation consists 
        of procedures to assess the status of the auditory system; to 
        establish the site of the auditory disorder; the type and 
        degree of hearing loss, and the potential effects of hearing 
        loss on communication; and to identify appropriate treatment 
        and referral options. Referral options should include linkage 
        to state IDEA Part C coordinating agencies or other appropriate 
        agencies, medical evaluation, hearing aid/sensory aid 
        assessment, audiologic rehabilitation treatment, national and 
        local consumer, self-help, parent, and education organizations, 
        and other family-centered services.
            (3) Medical evaluation.--Medical evaluation by a physician 
        consists of key components including history, examination, and 
        medical decision making focused on symptomatic and related body 
        systems for the purpose of diagnosing the etiology of hearing 
        loss and related physical conditions, and for identifying 
        appropriate treatment and referral options.
            (4) Medical intervention.--Medical intervention is the 
        process by which a physician provides medical diagnosis and 
        direction for medical and/or surgical treatment options of 
        hearing loss and/or related medical disorder associated with 
        hearing loss.
            (5) Audiologic rehabilitation.--Audiologic rehabilitation 
        (intervention) consists of procedures, techniques, and 
        technologies to facilitate the receptive and expressive 
        communication abilities of a child with hearing loss.
            (6) Early intervention.--Early intervention (e.g., 
        nonmedical) means providing appropriate services for the child 
        with hearing loss and ensuring that families of the child are 
        provided comprehensive, consumer-oriented information about the 
        full range of family support, training, information services, 
        communication options and are given the opportunity to consider 
        the full range of educational and program placements and 
        options for their child.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to clarify the 
authority within the Public Health Service Act to authorize statewide 
newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and intervention 
programs and systems, technical assistance, a national applied research 
program, and interagency and private sector collaboration for policy 
development, in order to assist the States in making progress toward 
the following goals:
            (1) All babies born in hospitals in the United States and 
        its territories should have a hearing screening before leaving 
        the birthing facility. Babies born in other countries and 
        residing in the United States via immigration or adoption 
        should have a hearing screening as early as possible.
            (2) All babies who are not born in hospitals in the United 
        States and its territories should have a hearing screening 
        within the first 3 months of life.
            (3) Appropriate audiologic and medical evaluations should 
        be conducted by 3 months for all newborns and infants suspected 
        of having hearing loss to allow appropriate referral and 
        provisions for audiologic rehabilitation, medical and early 
        intervention before the age of 6 months.
            (4) All newborn and infant hearing screening programs and 
        systems should include a component for audiologic 
rehabilitation, medical and early intervention options that ensures 
linkage to any new and existing state-wide systems of intervention and 
rehabilitative services for newborns and infants with hearing loss.
            (5) Public policy in regard to newborn and infant hearing 
        screening and intervention should be based on applied research 
        and the recognition that newborns, infants, toddlers, and 
        children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have unique language, 
        learning, and communication needs, and should be the result of 
        consultation with pertinent public and private sectors.
    (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 Act 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 state-wide 
        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 policymakers;
                    (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 the 
        National Institutes of Health, acting through the Director of 
        the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication 
        Disorders, shall for purposes of this section, continue a 
        program of research and development on the efficacy of new 
        screening techniques and technology, including clinical studies 
        of screening methods, studies on efficacy of intervention, and 
        related research.
    (e) Coordination and Collaboration.--
            (1) In general.--Under the existing authority of the Public 
        Health Service Act, in carrying out programs under this 
        section, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
        Administration, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 
        and Prevention, and the Director of the National Institutes of 
Health shall collaborate and consult with other Federal agencies; State 
and local agencies, including those responsible for early intervention 
services pursuant to Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid 
Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Program); Title 
XXI of the Social Security Act (State Children's Health Insurance 
Program); Title V of the Social Security Act (Maternal and Child Health 
Block Grant Program; and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act); consumer groups of and that serve individuals who are 
deaf and hard-of-hearing and their families; appropriate national 
medical and other health and education specialty organizations; persons 
who are deaf and hard-of-hearing and their families; other qualified 
professional personnel who are proficient in deaf or hard-of-hearing 
children's language and who possess the specialized knowledge, skills, 
and attributes needed to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing newborns, 
infants, toddlers, children, and their families; third-party payers and 
managed care organizations; and related commercial industries.
            (2) Policy development.--Under the existing authority of 
        the Public Health Service Act, the Administrator of the Health 
        Resources and Services Administration, the Director of the 
        Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Director of 
        the National Institutes of Health shall coordinate and 
        collaborate on recommendations for policy development at the 
        Federal and state levels and with the private sector, including 
        consumer, medical and other health and education professional-
        based organizations, with respect to newborn and infant hearing 
        screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems.
            (3) State early detection, diagnosis, and intervention 
        programs and systems; data collection.--Under the existing 
        authority of the Public Health Service Act, the Administrator 
        of the Health Resources and Services Administration and the 
        Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        shall coordinate and collaborate in assisting States to 
        establish newborn and infant hearing screening, evaluation and 
        intervention programs and systems under subsection (c) and to 
        develop a data collection system under subsection (d).
    (f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
to preempt any State law.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Statewide newborn and infant hearing screening, 
        evaluation and intervention programs and systems.--For the 
        purpose of carrying out subsection (c) under the existing 
        authority of the Public Health Service Act, there are 
        authorized to the Health Resources and Services Administration 
        appropriations in the amount of $5,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2000, $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be 
        necessary for fiscal year 2002.
            (2) Technical assistance, data management, and applied 
        research; centers for disease control and prevention.--For the 
        purpose of carrying out subsection (d)(1) under the existing 
        authority of the Public Health Service Act, there are 
        authorized to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
        appropriations in the amount of $5,000,000 for fiscal year 
        2000, $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be 
        necessary for fiscal year 2002.
            (3) Technical assistance, data management, and applied 
        research; national institute on deafness and other 
        communication disorders.--For the purpose of carrying out 
        subsection (d)(2) under the existing authority of the Public 
        Health Service Act, there are authorized to the National 
        Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 
        appropriations for such sums as may be necessary for each of 
        the fiscal years 2000 through 2002.