The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) State/Territory Program.
Donor Name: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
U.S. Territory: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 10/06/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $235,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
The purpose of this program is to enhance the state/territory EHDI system infrastructure to improve language acquisition for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children up to age 3. Funding will support state and territory EHDI systems of services so that DHH newborns, infants, and young children up to age 3 receive appropriate and timely services, including hearing screening, diagnosis, and early intervention (EI).
Program Goals
HRSA funds a portfolio of coordinated programs to improve outcomes for DHH children, including the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention State/Territory Program , the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) National Centers, and the Pediatric Audiology Competitive Supplement to the Leadership Education in Neuro-developmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program Together, these programs ensure DHH infants and children up to age 3 are identified in a timely manner and appropriate follow-up services are received to optimize language, literacy, cognitive, social, and emotional development. When children are identified as DHH early and provided timely and appropriate intervention services, their outcomes improve in these areas.
In alignment with Section 2 of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act of 2022, which reauthorized the program and amended existing law,2 this funding opportunity will support state/territory-wide EHDI systems of services in developing and monitoring “statewide newborn, infant, and young child hearing screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems.” Specifically, the successful applicant will:
- Engage EHDI system stakeholders at the state/territory level to improve language acquisition3 outcomes,
- Disaggregate data to identify populations and address disparities in language acquisition outcomes,
- Provide a coordinated statewide infrastructure to ensure newborns are screened by 1 month of age, diagnosed by 3 months of age, enrolled in EI by 6 months of age (1-3-6 recommendations), and loss to follow-up/loss to documentation is reduced,
- Support state/territory-wide capacity for hearing screening in young children up to age 3,
- Develop mechanisms to support and engage families with DHH children and DHH adults throughout the statewide EHDI system of services, and
- Engage, educate, and train health professionals and service providers5 in the statewide EHDI system about the 1-3-6 recommendations; the need for hearing screening up to age 3, the benefits of a family-centered medical home and the importance of communicating accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date, evidence-based information to families to facilitate the decision-making process to enroll in early intervention services.
Objectives
Objectives should reflect the Program Goals set forth above and contribute towards the overall long-term goal of improving language acquisition for DHH children throughout your state/territory up to age 3. You are responsible to achieve, collect, and report on the following program objectives.
State/Territory Determined Objectives
- These objectives should reflect the Program Goals and be based on the unique needs of your state/territory. In your application, propose at least one objective, including annual percent increases, in each of the following areas:
- By the end of Year 1, you are expected to collect and report baseline data in the following:
- Strengthening the infrastructure to coordinate services across the statewide EHDI system for DHH children to improve language acquisition outcomes, including but not limited to, the following actions: Increasing data capacity and interoperability of data systems, which could include establishing language acquisition outcomes, collecting, and tracking data.
- Improving training and educating health care and other service providers.
- Building partnerships with other EHDI stakeholder organizations and entities. Such entities could include those that focus on early intervention, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C programs, family-based organizations, provider organizations, etc.
- Strengthening mechanisms to engage families, including those traditionally underserved by EHDI, in DHH adult-to-family supports and services.
- By the end of Year 1, you are expected to collect and report baseline data in the following:
- Providing family-to-family supports and services across the EHDI system, which could include DHH adult-to-family supports and services.
By end of Year 5, you are expected to identify, collect, and report baseline data in the following area:
- Language acquisition outcomes for the population of 3-year-old DHH children in your state/territory.
Funding Information
- It estimates $13,865,000 will be available each year to fund up to 59 recipients. This includes 1 recipient in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau). You may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $235,000 annually (reflecting direct and indirect costs).
- An additional $1,500,000, subject to the availability of funds, will be awarded to up to 20 recipients at $75,000 each to implement an optional 1-year EHDI Innovation Project. You may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $310,000 annually (reflecting direct and indirect), including $235,000 base amount and an additional $75,000 for the Optional EHDI Innovation Project).
Project Period
The period of performance is April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2029 (5 years). This program notice depends on the appropriation of funds. If funds are appropriate
Eligibility Criteria
- Any state
- District of Columbia
- Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Guam
- American Samoa
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Micronesia
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Republic of Palau
In addition, you can apply if your organization is in the United States and is:
- Public or private, non-profit
- Community-based
- Tribal (governments, organizations, as those terms are defined
- Native American tribal governments (federally recognized) are eligible.
- Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments) are eligible
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
