The Newborn Screening Program (NBSP) is a partnership between the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Illinois (SCDAI) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), which began in 2002.  Its purpose is to notify all families of newborn babies born in the state of Illinois with an abnormal hemoglobin gene, which includes but not limited to, Sickle Cell Trait (SCT) and Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). The NBSP collaborates with IDPH and healthcare providers statewide to perform interventions, parental health education, comprehensive care (Medical Home or Primary Care Providers), and follow-up services to families of infants in Illinois who have SCT or SCD.  In addition to education and counseling, SCDAI encourages families who do not know their hemoglobin status to be tested either by their primary care provider or if uninsured SCDAI offers “FREE” monthly hemoglobin screenings that are open to the public.