Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Information System (EHDI-IS) Surveillance Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds development and maintenance of centralized newborn hearing screening tracking and surveillance systems under CFDA 93.314, with an open cooperative agreement opportunity due March 6, 2025 (CDC-RFA-DD-25-0157) focused on improving data quality and timely reporting in Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs.

The program supports jurisdictional EHDI programs in building sustainable, unduplicated, individually identifiable newborn hearing screening surveillance systems capable of accurately tracking diagnostic and early intervention services for infants identified as deaf or hard of hearing. Recent awarded work includes Wisconsin's maintenance and enhancement of its EHDI-IS ($1.25 million), Iowa's diagnostic and intervention surveillance through its newborn screening information system ($750 thousand), and Arizona's EHDI-IS development ($743 thousand). Funded activities center on documenting follow-up diagnostic testing and intervention service linkages, optimizing system functionality to support real-time tracking and data exchange with electronic health record systems, and analyzing data to identify gaps in timely screening, diagnosis, and enrollment.

The program has distributed $72.6 million across 142 awards since 2011, with the CDC as the sole funding source. Cooperative agreements dominate the portfolio at 77 percent of awards (110), with Project Grants comprising the remaining 23 percent (32). Recent activity has slowed substantially; after distributing multiple awards annually between 2011 and 2017, the program made only one award in 2020 and none since. Grant awards typically range from $150 thousand to $1.25 million, with project periods of one to five years and initial funding provided for the first 12-month budget period.

Eligible applicants include state and local governments and their bona fide agents, including U.S. territories and freely associated states. The current solicitation (CDC-RFA-DD-25-0157, due March 6, 2025) prioritizes improving 1-, 3-, and 6-month data quality and completeness, facilitating analysis to address disparities in timely screening and diagnosis, and piloting the integration of language and communication developmental status data at age three into EHDI surveillance systems. Applicant types are limited to state governments, county governments, city and township governments, and other jurisdictional health agencies. Applications are evaluated on scientific and technical merit through peer review, relevance to CDC priorities, and availability of funds. Recipients must maintain records for three years beyond the final audit and may receive non-competitive continuation funding contingent on satisfactory progress and federal budget availability.