42 U.S.C. § 285g: Purpose of Institute

The general purpose of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (hereafter in this subpart referred to as the “Institute”) is the conduct and support of research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to gynecologic health, maternal health, child health, intellectual disabilities, human growth and development, including prenatal development, population research, and special health problems and requirements of mothers and children. ensure that every individual is born healthy and wanted, that women suffer no harmful effects from reproductive processes, and that all children have the chance to achieve their full potential for healthy and productive lives, free from disease or disability; and ensure the health, productivity, independence, and well-being of all individuals through optimal rehabilitation. reduce dramatically the rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, infant mortality, and maternal HIV transmission; develop the Haemophilus Influenza B (Hib) vaccine, credited with nearly eliminating the incidence of intellectual disabilities; and conduct intramural research, support extramural research, and train thousands of child health and human development researchers who have contributed greatly to dramatic gains in child health throughout the world. The vision, drive, and tenacity of one woman, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was instrumental in proposing, passing, and enacting legislation to establish the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development ( Public Law 87–838 ) [see Tables for classification] on October 17, 1962 . It is befitting and appropriate to recognize the substantial achievements of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a tireless advocate for children with special needs, whose foresight in creating the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development gave life to the words of President Kennedy, who wished to ‘encourage imaginative research into the complex processes of human development from conception to old age.’ ” It is the purpose of this section to authorize the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to conduct a national longitudinal study of environmental influences (including physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial) on children’s health and development. plan, develop, and implement a prospective cohort study, from birth to adulthood, to evaluate the effects of both chronic and intermittent exposures on child health and human development; and investigate basic mechanisms of developmental disorders and environmental factors, both risk and protective, that influence health and developmental processes. incorporate behavioral, emotional, educational, and contextual consequences to enable a complete assessment of the physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial environmental influences on children’s well-being; gather data on environmental influences and outcomes on diverse populations of children, which may include the consideration of prenatal exposures; consider health disparities among children which may include the consideration of prenatal exposures; and be conducted in compliance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ), including the requirement of prior parental consent for the disclosure of any education records, except without the use of authority or exceptions granted to authorized representatives of the Secretary of Education for the evaluation of Federally-supported education programs or in connection with the enforcement of the Federal legal requirements that relate to such programs. Repealed. Pub. L. 109–482, title I, § 104(b)(3)(E) , Jan. 15, 2007 , 120 Stat. 3694 .] There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each [sic] the fiscal years 2002 through 2005.”