Notice of Class Deviation From Competition Requirements

HRSA announces the award of a program expansion supplement in the amount of $70,000 each to ten Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) grantees with existing graduate-level pediatric audiology programs. The purpose of the LEND Program is to enhance the clinical expertise and leadership skills of professionals dedicated to caring for children with neurodevelopmental and other related disabilities, including autism, and to increase the number of trained providers available to treat children with complex disabilities. The purpose of this notice is to award a 12-month supplement to LEND pediatric audiology programs to: (1) Strengthen the focus on testing for hearing loss in young infants and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other related neurodevelopmental disabilities (DD); and (2) to increase the number of pediatric audiology trainees with clinical and leadership skills to detect hearing loss in these infants/children, and to develop systems to increase enrollment of identified infants/children into early intervention programs.