Reporting to the DeafBlind “Census”
Please report any child/young adult with BOTH hearing loss and visual impairment:
Report a Child / Student to the FAVI DeafBlind Registry
The Florida & Virgin Islands (FAVI) DeafBlind Collaborative is the State DeafBlind Project responsible for recording data on DeafBlind children and young adults in Florida and the US Virgin Islands (St Thomas, St John, St Croix, Water Island). Florida and USVI school districts report students with both vision and hearing losses to FAVI. Children and young adults with deafblindness are enrolled in the Florida or USVI Deafblind Registry as they are identified and reported to us. The “census” is updated annually, based on the December 1st “Child Count” by each school district. Ages, etiologies, sensory loss levels, other disabilities, and de-identified demographic information are reported annually to the federal government via the National Child Count report.
(See more info on the National Child Count of Children and Youth who are DeafBlind.)
“Census” forms are used to report children and young adults (ages birth – 22 years) to the FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative. Individuals with both vision and hearing loss (diagnosed or suspected) will be added to the Florida or USVI DeafBlind Registry. These individuals, their families, and educational teams then become eligible for consultation with and assistance from FAVI specialists.
Please contact Shelly Voelker (shellyv@ufl.edu) with questions or for assistance with reporting
HIPAA and FERPA Compliance
When collecting data for the National Child Count of Children and Youth Who Are DeafBlind (aka “census”), the FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative functions as a HIPAA-covered entity that transforms nonstandard information on children and youth with deafblindness into standard format for the annual census. Under HIPAA, healthcare providers may disclose de-identified information to the Florida or USVI registry of children and youth who are deafblind without authorization. In compliance with HIPAA and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), FAVI transmits only de-identified information about the health, disability, and educational profiles of children and youth with deafblindness to the National Consortium on DeafBlindness for the annual census.
Help Us to Help Families: Make a Referral
Help the Florida & Virgin Islands DeafBlind Collaborative to help DeafBlind children and youth, their families, and their providers!
Encourage families to complete a Child Intake, so that we can provide information and offer services to children with deafblindness, their families, and their educational teams.
Once a family has provided Consent for Exchange of Information and Records, any family member or team member may make a Request for Technical Assistance from the FAVI DeafBlind Collaborative.