There is established within the department the Newborn Hearing Program, referred to in this chapter as the "program," to enable children and their families and caregivers to obtain information regarding hearing screening and evaluation and to learn about treatment and intervention services at the earliest opportunity in order to prevent or mitigate developmental delays and academic failures associated with undetected hearing loss. The obligations of the department regarding this program begin when funding is available to the department to implement the program. [1999, c. 647, §2(NEW).]
22 M.R.S. § 8821