The Health Resources and Services

In their most recent position statements, the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH 2000, 2007) recommends that all infants be screened no later than 1 month of age. The basis for this recommendation is to maximize social, emotional, and linguistic outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This recommendation is widely recognized and has been institutionalized as a standard of care by hospitals nationwide. There has also been an increase in the number of out-of-hospital birth screens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012b). Although this increase represents a very small percentage of total U.S. births (1.4%; CDC, 2012b), state Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs are focused on efforts and strategies to increase the number screened. These efforts are supported by the CDC EHDI national goals (CDC, 2012a). A survey conducted b