2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/10/2015 | 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM | CARES - An Innovative Partnership Between Wisconsin Sound Beginnings and the WI Birth to 3 Program | Jones | 4
CARES - An Innovative Partnership Between Wisconsin Sound Beginnings and the WI Birth to 3 Program
The average age at diagnosis of hearing loss in Wisconsin has successfully decreased from 116 days in 2012 to 66 days of age in 2013, yet only half of the 103 babies referred to early intervention in 2013 actually enrolled in Birth to 3 Program Early Intervention services. Given this discrepancy, WSB developed and implemented a Coordination, Assistance, Resources and Evaluation Services (CARES) Program and hired a CARES Specialist to serve families and Birth to 3 Programs in the Southern Region of Wisconsin. The CARES Specialist is a member of the EHDI Wisconsin Sound Beginnings Team and is also a participating member of the Birth to 3 Programs in the Southern Region for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The CARES Specialist is a member of each child’s IFSP team and attends IFSP team meetings, as well as provides on-going consultation, training and support for the family, primary coach and other service providers. The CARES Specialist utilizes the NECAP Project, The Greenspan Social Emotional Growth Chart Questionnaire and the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment as a portion of the core evaluative components. The CARES Specialist is also knowledgeable about and is able to connect the B-3 team and family to additional local deafness-specific resources as needed. This presentation will give you the opportunity to learn about this new program from three unique perspectives: the WI State B-3 Early Intervention Program, the State EHDI Director and the new CARES Specialist.
- Participants will be able to describe how the CARES Program will address the need to increase enrollment of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in the WI Birth to 3 Program.
- Participants will be able to discuss how CARES will support improved outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Participants will be able to apply steps to facilitate collaboration between the EHDI Program and the Part C Early intervention program based on the experience of the WI partnership.
Presentation:
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Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Elizabeth Seeliger
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,POC), Department of Health Services, elizabeth.seeliger@dhs.wisconsin.gov;
Elizabeth Seeliger, AuD, is the Wisconsin Sound Beginnings Program Director and has worked as a clinical audiologist in a variety of settings, helping guide children and families through the process of hearing loss diagnosis and intervention. Elizabeth has been a leader in developing a data, tracking and referral system; educational resources for hospitals and providers; and an interactive notebook for parents. Elizabeth spearheaded the initiative to enable Wisconsin homebirth midwives to provide UNHS. Elizabeth has also provided technical assistance and consultation locally and internationally on quality improvement in EHDI systems. Elizabeth served on the board of directors for the WI Chapter of Families for Hands & Voices and Hands & Voices HQ. She is endorsed in Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Christi Hess
(Co-Presenter), Waisman Center-Wisconsin Sound Beginnings, christi.hess@wi.gov;
Christi Hess is one of Wisconsin Sound Beginnings’s CARES Specialists. Originally from Baltimore, Christi lived and worked in Madison as a PhD student/researcher and an early intervention provider with the Birth to 3 Program before joining Wisconsin Sound Beginnings in 2014. Both her clinical work and research focuses on toddlers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. She received her BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders and MS in Speech Language Pathology from James Madison University in Virginia. She worked in New York City for two years as a speech-language pathologist for New York Eyes and Ear’s Cochlear Implant Center and Strivright/The Auditory Oral School of New York providing auditory rehabilitation as well as speech/language therapy to children ages 0-5. Christi has experience in multiple modes of communication ranging from American Sign Language to Auditory Oral/Verbal.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Lori Wittemann
(Co-Presenter), Department of Health Services, Lori.Wittemann@dhs.wisconsin.gov;
Lori graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh with a dual degree in early childhood special education and learning disabilities. She worked in two different county Birth to 3 Programs in Wisconsin; in one as a teacher/service coordinator and director of the other. She has worked at the WI Department of Health Services Birth to 3 Program for seven years to support and monitor the 72 county Birth to 3 Programs.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -