Birth Defects Program

Kansas Birth Defects Program

The Kansas Birth Defects Program is responsible for the collection of information concerning congenital anomalies, stillbirths and abnormal conditions of newborns and children up to the age of 5 in the state of Kansas. The Kansas Birth Defects Program is a passive surveillance system that relies on the reporting of birthing hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Reporting Resources

  1. Submit Regulation Revision Suggestions

Regulation Revision Suggestions Survey

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE)'s Bureau of Family Heath (BFH) is home to several regulatory programs. State regulatory programs are designed to protect and preserve the public’s health, safety, and well-being. Agencies are given authority through law to establish regulations that describe how laws are to be implemented. Maintaining an effective regulatory program greatly reduces the risk of harm to the people of Kansas and our resources. 

Receiving feedback on program regulations is critical to the regulatory review process and community participation. The survey allows members of regulated communities and the public to offer feedback on KDHE BFH regulations.  

Thank you for sharing your voice as we move forward together to protect the health, safety, and welfare of Kansas families. Share your feedback today.

  1. Statutory Authority & Funding
  2. Mission & Purpose
  3. World Birth Defects Day

Background

Kansas has been collecting birth defects information from the Kansas birth certificate since 1979. The passage of Senate Bill 418 in the 2004 Legislative session provided statutory authority, via K.S.A. 65-1,241 through 65-1,246 (PDF), to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to establish a birth defects information system. In 2010, K.A.R. 28-4-520 through K.A.R. 28-4-521 expanded the list of congenital anomalies reportable to KDHE. In fall of 2016, KDHE applied for and was awarded funding through CDC's Surveillance, Intervention, and Referral Services for Infants with Microcephaly and other Adverse Outcomes linked with the Zika Virus. Through this funding opportunity, Kansas is taking steps to enhance the current passive birth defects surveillance system.