2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/10/2025 | 3:10 PM - 3:40 PM | Creating Support for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and CODA Children in Foster Care | 309
Creating Support for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and CODA Children in Foster Care
For many professionals who work with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and their families, we are often left to wonder what happens to these children when they are placed in foster care. Does the foster family understand how to use the child’s amplification devices? Does the foster family know what follow along evaluations the child may need relative to the hearing loss? Can the foster family fully communicate with the child in their primary language (spoken English, ASL or another language)? Does the foster family understand the unique educational needs for these children? Following a 2022 presentation at the EHDI conference by representatives from Kentucky outlining their unique program for foster children and families, these questions and more were posed to the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. This ultimately led to a collaboration with these state agencies and clinicians at Boston Children’s Hospital. This presentation will outline the questions posed and the development of a recruitment program to find families who may be interested in fostering children with reduced hearing. We will also discuss the resources that are being developed to support the foster parents and the social workers charged with overseeing the children’s placements.
- Evaluate the need for supports to children in foster care within their own state.
- Discuss the unique needs of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and CODA children in foster care.
- Outline strategies for improving services to children in foster care.
Presentation:
3545975_18065CharlotteMullen.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Charlotte Mullen
(Primary Presenter), Boston Children's Hospital, charlotte.mullen@childrens.harvard.edu;
Charlotte Mullen, AuD is the primary pediatric audiologist for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and Specialty Audiologist for Education and Training for the audiology program at Boston Children’s Hospital. She founded the Sound Outreach to Schools educational audiology program. Dr. Mullen has given numerous presentations to professional and parent groups. Her clinical work initially identified an increased incidence in hearing loss among children treated by extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Working closely with the Developmental Medicine Program, Dr. Mullen developed a clinical practice guideline for audiological monitoring which led to incorporation into the 2007 Joint Committee on Infant Hearing recommendations. Dr. Mullen is a founding member of the Audiology Clinical Education Network. She also coordinates the Virtual Pediatric Audiology meetings which provides a large forum for learning and discussing issues pertaining to pediatric practice.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with Boston Children's Hospital.
Nature: Employee.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Kathryn Manfield
(Co-Presenter), Tufts Medical Center , kathryn.manfield@childrens.harvard.edu;
Kathryn Manfield, MSW, LICSW is a clinical social worker in the Cochlear Implant Program at Boston Children's Hospital and a co-director of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Specialty Program at Minute Man Arc Early Intervention Program. Her passion and deep regard for parents and parenting is demonstrated in her clinical work and her professional collaborations.
Kathy has a master's degree in social work from Boston College and a graduate certificate in Disability and Health from Suffolk University. Kathy was a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disorders (LEND) Fellow at the Univ. of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She is endorsed as an Infant-Family Specialist by the MA Association for Infant Mental Health.
In addition to her work supporting families she is also a mother of three children, the youngest of whom is deaf and listens with cochlear implants.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with Boston Children's Hospital.
Nature: salary.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Margaret Lee
(Co-Presenter), Mass. Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, margaret.lee@mass.gov;
Peggy Lee is the Director of the Community Service Division at the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH). Peggy received a degree in Psychology at Saint Anselm College, and her Ed.M. in Deaf Education at Boston University. She has over 30 years experience as a Teacher of the Deaf and has served the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities in many capacities. She is passionate about advocating for the needs of Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind individuals and their families.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Jennifer Chebator
(Co-Presenter), Mass. Dept. of Children and Families, jennifer.chebator2@mass.gov;
Jenn Chebator is the Director of Disability Services at the Massachusetts Dept. of Children and Families (DCF). Jenn earned her Bachelors of Social Work from Salem State University and a Masters in Social Work from Boston University. Jenn has worked in multiple settings in both the private and public sector as a Social Worker and is proud to be DCF's first Director of Disability Services.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment,Management position from Department of Children and Families (Massachusetts).
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Employee )
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -