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The Legislature, knowing that hearing is essential to appropriate language development which is, in turn, directly related to communication skills and the ultimate ability of a child to attain his or her best level of education, and finding limited resources available in the state and few providers qualified to provide developmentally appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic services to infants and toddlers identified through the early hearing detection and intervention program, finds it necessary to supplement the efforts of the State Department of Health as lead agency for the implementation of Part C of IDEA in its efforts to identify and provide developmentally appropriate services to hearing impaired infants and toddlers and their families.
To assure the best possible developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers identified through the early hearing detection and intervention program, the Legislature shall provide fiscal support to the infant and toddler early intervention program of the State Department of Health to:
Establish positions reasonable and appropriate to insure that the provisions of this chapter are carried out;
Procure equipment to achieve universal hearing screening of one hundred percent (100%) of live births;
Procure diagnostic equipment necessary to identify the cause of the child's hearing impairment and plan an appropriate course of therapeutic services;
Assist with the establishment of training programs on the education of hearing impaired children in the colleges and universities of the state;
Assist with in-service training of existing providers of services to the hearing impaired population of the state to increase their skill in providing developmentally appropriate services to infants and toddlers and their families;
Contract directly with individuals identified as qualified providers of services; and
Provide training for appropriate staff of schools and school districts to insure the successful transition of children upon reaching age three (3) from Part C to services under Part B of IDEA through schools across the state or other appropriate services.