The EDVI Act would establish the first federal program to address children’s vision and eye health.
Passing this important legislation would indicate Congress’s commitment to protecting the eyesight of our nation’s children and preventing avoidable vision loss and blindness in children.
The following information is meant to provide an overview of the EDVI Act. For the most recent text of the legislation and other official legislative documents, please refer to the official legislative text on congress.gov: H.R. 8400, To amend the Public Health Service Act to improve children’s vision and eye health through grants to States, territories, and Tribal organizations, and the provision of technical assistance to support those efforts.
You Can Help!
Prevent Blindness, a leader in children’s vision and eye health through our National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, envisions a future where children can grow with healthy eyesight and enjoy a lifetime of good vision. The EDVI Act is a children’s health imperative and must be enacted by Congress. Get involved now, and help make the EDVI Act a reality for children and families.
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Background
A child’s vision develops and changes from birth through childhood. Because of these changes, a child should be screened regularly, referred to eye care, and receive any needed treatment and follow-up to care to ensure vision problems are caught early and permanent vision loss is avoided.
While early detection and intervention for vision disorders in children are part of national goals and health care standards, there is currently no federally funded program in the United States that specifically addresses children’s vision and eye health. Other public health programs are in place to support many other important aspects of child health and development— including children’s hearing and oral health. Children’s vision health deserves the same level of action.
States and communities are best positioned to implement a public health system of care for children’s vision and eye health through community, early learning, and school-based health approaches. However, state laws to address children’s vision vary widely in approaches and often lack protocols for referrals to eye care providers and follow-up to ensure eye care was received. States may also lack the necessary resources to modernize, improve, or implement equitable systems of care that match the needs of their youngest citizens.
Key Provisions of the EDVI Act
The goal of the EDVI Act is to ensure that every child with a possible vision problem is identified and connected to appropriate eye care. The EDVI Act would support schools, early childhood professionals, health care providers, public health professionals, and families with updated and evidence-based vision screening methods, improve referrals to eye care, and advance follow-up protocols to ensure that children who need eye care treatment receive it before a vision problem leads to potential vision loss.
Under the EDVI Act, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will award grants and cooperative agreements for states and local communities to:
- Implement approaches (such as vision screenings) for the early detection of vision concerns in children, referrals for eye exams, and follow-up mechanisms;
- Identify barriers in access to eye care and strategies to improve eye health outcomes;
- Raise awareness about the importance of early interventions and screenings;
- Establish a coordinated public health system for vision health and eye care diagnosis and treatment; and
- Develop state-based data collection, quality monitoring, and performance improvement systems.
The EDVI Act also makes resources available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a national level technical assistance center to provide guidance to any state or community implementing, updating, or improving children’s vision programs, to promote surveillance, and to advance population health research priorities in children’s vision. The EDVI Act also encourages collaboration across various agencies under HHS and with the U.S. Department of Education—a key step to ensure that children’s vision and eye health resources are broadly addressed to improve academic outcomes.
A broad spectrum of public health organizations support the EDVI Act, including:
Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation
& Education Professionals
AccessAbility Officer
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Optometry
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Certified Orthoptists
American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
American Council of the Blind
American Glaucoma Society
American Optometric Association
American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses
Association for Education and Rehabilitation
of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
Beyond Vision
California Agencies for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The Chicago Lighthouse
Children’s Vision Equity Alliance
Children’s Vision Massachusetts
Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Dry Eye Foundation
F.A.C.E.S of AZ
Family Centered Treatment Foundation
Family Voices
First Focus Campaign for Children
Friends for Sight
Future Leaders in Sight
Georgia Council of the Blind
The Glaucoma Foundation
Global Coalition on Aging
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Healthy Schools Campaign
Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness
International Eye Foundation
Kansas School Nurses Association
Know the Glow
Lighthouse Central Florida /Lighthouse Works
Lighthouse Guild
Lions Vision Services
Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc.
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind/Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Association of School Nurses
National Association of Vision Care Plans
National Coalition for Infant Health
National League for Nursing
National Optometric Association
New England College of Optometry
New York Vision Rehabilitation Association
OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation
PeekABoo Vision Care Initiative
Pennsylvania Association for the Blind
Pennsylvania Council of the Blind
Perkins School for the Blind
Prevent Blindness
Prevent Blindness Georgia
Prevent Blindness Iowa
Prevent Blindness North Carolina
Prevent Blindness Ohio
Prevent Blindness Texas
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin
Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington
Research to Prevent Blindness
Rocky Mountain University
Sampalis Eye Care
School-Based Health Alliance
Seva Foundation
Sight Savers America
Society for Public Health Education
Spectrios Institute
Sutter Medical Group
TED Community Organization
University of Houston College of Optometry
Vision Health Advocacy Coalition
The Vision Council
Vision Forward Association
Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS)
Vitalyst Health Foundation
VOSH/California
VOSH/International
3rd Eye View
Interested organizations can endorse the EDVI Act using this form. Signatories will be added on a rolling basis. For more information, please contact Sara Brown at [email protected].