Enhancing Timely Data Reporting, Quality, and Use in Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Surveillance

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support jurisdictional Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs to improve data quality and use of data to inform programmatic actions by examining the timeliness and completeness of the data to help all infants who are born Deaf or Hard of Hearing (D/HH) to reach the full promise of screening, diagnosis, and access to early intervention in the first 6 months of life. Also, the NOFO will support a subset of jurisdictions to integrate language and communication status data at age 3 years within their EHDI surveillance system, enhancing their ability to monitor the impact of early diagnosis of D/HH and subsequent intervention. Specifically, the aims of this NOFO will be to 1) Boost state and local systems and support and bolster jurisdictional staff with technical expertise to develop efficient systems, analyze data, and facilitate linkages to EHDI-related data systems to address gaps in diagnosis and linkage to screening, diagnostic and early intervention services; 2)Focus on improving 1-, 3-, and 6-month data quality and systems by identifying solutions, including jurisdiction specific strategies and policies, to improve data completeness, validity of data or data linkage/integration; 3)Facilitate analysis and use of data to address gaps and disparities in timely screening, diagnosis, and enrollment in early intervention; and 4) Begin to incorporate monitoring developmental status indicator outcomes into EHDI surveillance and pilot adding language/communication developmental status data to the EHDI-IS.