S. 3199 

One Hundred Eleventh Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten 

An Act 

To amend the Public Health Service Act regarding early detection, diagnosis, and 

treatment of hearing loss. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Early Hearing Detection and 

Intervention Act of 2010’’. 

SEC. 2. EARLY DETECTION, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF HEARING 

LOSS. 

Section 399M of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280g– 

1) is amended— 

(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘INFANTS’’ and 

inserting ‘‘NEWBORNS AND INFANTS’’; 

(2) in subsection (a)— 

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 

‘‘screening, evaluation and intervention programs and systems’’ and inserting ‘‘screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and 

intervention programs and systems, and to assist in the 

recruitment, retention, education, and training of qualified 

personnel and health care providers,’’; 

(B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows: 

‘‘(1) To develop and monitor the efficacy of statewide programs and systems for hearing screening of newborns and 

infants; prompt evaluation and diagnosis of children referred 

from screening programs; and appropriate educational, 

audiological, and medical interventions for children identified 

with hearing loss. Early intervention includes referral to and 

delivery of information and services by 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. Programs and systems under 

this paragraph shall establish and foster family-to-family support mechanisms that are critical in the first months after 

a child is identified with hearing loss.’’; and 

(C) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(3) Other activities may include developing efficient models 

to ensure that newborns and infants who are identified with 

a hearing loss through screening receive follow-up by a qualified 

health care provider, and State agencies shall be encouraged 
S. 3199—2 

to adopt models that effectively increase the rate of occurrence 

of such follow-up.’’; 

(3) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘hearing loss 

screening, evaluation, and intervention programs’’ and inserting 

‘‘hearing loss screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention 

programs’’; 

(4) in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c), by striking 

the term ‘‘hearing screening, evaluation and intervention programs’’ each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘hearing 

screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention programs’’; 

(5) in subsection (e)— 

(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘ensuring that families 

of the child’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘ensuring 

that families of the child are provided comprehensive, consumer-oriented information about the full range of family 

support, training, information services, and language and 

communication options and are given the opportunity to 

consider and obtain the full range of such appropriate 

services, educational and program placements, and other 

options for their child from highly qualified providers.’’; 

and 

(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘, after rescreening,’’; 

and 

(6) in subsection (f)— 

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2002’’ 

and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2015’’; 

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2002’’ 

and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2015’’; and 

(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2002’’ 

and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2011 through 2015’’. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.