Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act of 2025
The Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children Act of 2025 would add a new program to the Public Health Service Act to improve how states, territories, and certain tribal and urban Indian organizations screen and care for children’s vision. It would authorize grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop statewide systems for early vision detection and intervention, data collection, and coordination of eye-care services. Funds would support activities such as vision screening, reducing barriers to eye care (especially in rural and underserved communities), public awareness, and creating a coordinated public health system for vision care. Technical assistance would be provided by the CDC to help build data systems, disseminate information, conduct research, monitor quality, and align best practices with national goals. The bill also requires annual reporting on activities and outcomes and includes a formal evaluation plan within four years of enactment. It authorizes roughly $10 million per year from 2026 to 2030 (split between program funding and evaluation/technical assistance). Introduced March 31, 2025 by Reps. Veasey and Bilirakis, the bill would be implemented through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and would coordinate with several federal programs (eg, Title V Maternal and Child Health, EPSDT, SCHIP, IDEA, IHS, and the Department of Education) to support comprehensive, early vision screening, timely referrals, and follow-up care for children.
Key Points
- 1Grants to states, territories, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations (and certain state agencies) to develop and implement statewide early vision detection and intervention programs and systems for children’s vision and eye health.
- 2Eligible activities (at least three must be funded):
- 3- Implement early detection practices (vision screening), promote eye-care referrals, and use evidence-based, age-appropriate standards.
- 4- Create integrated, state-level data collection and performance-improvement systems for children’s vision.
- 5- Identify strategies to improve eye-health outcomes, expand access, and reduce disparities for children facing barriers to eye care (especially rural/underserved populations).
- 6- Raise public awareness with accurate, accessible, culturally and linguistically competent information.
- 7- Establish a coordinated public health system for vision care (detection, referral, diagnosis, intervention, and follow-up).
- 8- Provide referrals to wrap-around vision services to support independent living.
- 9Collaboration with key partners and programs (eg, MCH Block Grant, EPSDT, SCHIP, IDEA B & C, IHS, consumer groups) for program design, policy, and improvement.
- 10Technical assistance provided by the CDC to eligible entities, including data system development, information dissemination to stakeholders, applied research, quality monitoring, and coordination of best practices toward national vision-health goals.
- 11Evaluation and reporting requirements: annual reports to the Secretary describing activities, outcomes, and goal attainment; public posting of these reports; a separate four-year evaluation of outcomes, costs, and effectiveness with potential Congressional delivery of results.
- 12Coordination: the Secretary must work with multiple federal agencies to shape policy development at federal, state, and Tribal levels, and with the private sector and child-serving organizations.
- 13Definitions and scope: includes specific definitions for Indian tribes, Tribal organizations, urban Indian organizations, and a State Educational Agency to ensure broad but precise eligibility.
- 14Funding authorization: approximately $5 million per year (2026–2030) for the core grants, plus about $5 million per year (2026–2030) for the evaluation/technical-assistance component, effectively totaling roughly $10 million annually when fully funded.