Children's Hearing and Speech Services

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Hearing Aid Recycling Program

Children's Hearing and Speech Services (CHSS) is a public health program of the Utah Department of Health's Family and Health Preparedness Division. It provides statewide consultation, education, and clinical services in the areas of communicative disorders (speech-language development and hearing).

CHSS also oversees and supports the legislatively mandated newborn hearing screening in Utah. This includes maintaining a comprehensive (child) database, a statewide child tracking system, an advisory committee that reviews and provides guidance to the program, and a system that provides an annual evaluation of the states as well as the individual hospital/birthing centers newborn hearing screening and follow-up performance.

Clinical facilities are located in Salt Lake City and Ogden. All facilities are staffed by licensed and certified speech/language pathologists and/or audiologists. Clinical and consultation services are also provided in many rural areas individually and through state and local Health Department clinics.

The mission of CHSS is to assure optimal hearing, speech and language in Utah children, through a collaborative statewide system of education, prevention, early identification and intervention, diagnosis, referral and care coordination.

Who can we help?

All children seen within Children with Special Health Care Needs clinical programs from birth to 18 years of age with suspected or identified hearing, speech or language handicaps are eligible for diagnostic evaluations and follow-up services. All Utah children from birth to five years of age are eligible for screening services. Specific target populations are newborns, infants, preschoolers, children at risk, children in areas lacking alternative care and children of parents needing financial assistance. Families are charged according to ability to pay, utilizing a sliding fee scale. No services are denied because of inability to pay.

What do we do?

• Hearing, Speech and Language Evaluations
• Traveling Clinics to 9 Rural Sites
• Statewide 0-3 Child Find Services
• Newborn Hearing Screening (EHDI)
• Hearing Aid Recycling Program (HARP)
• Statewide Technical Assistance
• Local Health Department Consultation and Clinical Services
• Early Intervention Consultation/Collaboration
• Headstart Consultation
• Migrant Clinic Consultation
• Develoment of State Standards / Guidelines
• Public and Professional Education
• URLEND Program Consultation
• Medical Home Consultation

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