HF 782

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/13/2013 08:17pm

A bill for an act
relating to health; extending expiration of an advisory board; classifying data
collected under the early hearing detection and intervention program; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 144.966, subdivision 2, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 144.966, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee.

(a) The
commissioner of health shall establish a Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee
to advise and assist the Department of Health and the Department of Education in:

(1) developing protocols and timelines for screening, rescreening, and diagnostic
audiological assessment and early medical, audiological, and educational intervention
services for children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing;

(2) designing protocols for tracking children from birth through age three that may
have passed newborn screening but are at risk for delayed or late onset of permanent
hearing loss;

(3) designing a technical assistance program to support facilities implementing the
screening program and facilities conducting rescreening and diagnostic audiological
assessment;

(4) designing implementation and evaluation of a system of follow-up and tracking;
and

(5) evaluating program outcomes to increase effectiveness and efficiency and ensure
culturally appropriate services for children with a confirmed hearing loss and their families.

(b) The commissioner of health shall appoint at least one member from each of the
following groups with no less than two of the members being deaf or hard-of-hearing:

(1) a representative from a consumer organization representing culturally deaf
persons;

(2) a parent with a child with hearing loss representing a parent organization;

(3) a consumer from an organization representing oral communication options;

(4) a consumer from an organization representing cued speech communication
options;

(5) an audiologist who has experience in evaluation and intervention of infants
and young children;

(6) a speech-language pathologist who has experience in evaluation and intervention
of infants and young children;

(7) two primary care providers who have experience in the care of infants and young
children, one of which shall be a pediatrician;

(8) a representative from the early hearing detection intervention teams;

(9) a representative from the Department of Education resource center for the deaf
and hard-of-hearing or the representative's designee;

(10) a representative of the Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard-of-Hearing
Minnesotans;

(11) a representative from the Department of Human Services Deaf and
Hard-of-Hearing Services Division;

(12) one or more of the Part C coordinators from the Department of Education, the
Department of Health, or the Department of Human Services or the department's designees;

(13) the Department of Health early hearing detection and intervention coordinators;

(14) two birth hospital representatives from one rural and one urban hospital;

(15) a pediatric geneticist;

(16) an otolaryngologist;

(17) a representative from the Newborn Screening Advisory Committee under
this subdivision; and

(18) a representative of the Department of Education regional low-incidence
facilitators.

The commissioner must complete the appointments required under this subdivision by
September 1, 2007.

(c) The Department of Health member shall chair the first meeting of the committee.
At the first meeting, the committee shall elect a chair from its membership. The committee
shall meet at the call of the chair, at least four times a year. The committee shall adopt
written bylaws to govern its activities. The Department of Health shall provide technical
and administrative support services as required by the committee. These services shall
include technical support from individuals qualified to administer infant hearing screening,
rescreening, and diagnostic audiological assessments.

Members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their service, but
shall be reimbursed as provided in section 15.059 for expenses incurred as a result of
their duties as members of the committee.

(d) This subdivision expires June 30, deleted text begin 2013 deleted text end new text begin 2019 new text end .

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 144.966, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Data collected. new text end

new text begin Data collected by or submitted to the Department of
Health pursuant to this section is not subject to section 144.125, subdivisions 6 to 9.
new text end