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EPA Lead Program Grant Fact Sheet
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds projects in areas with high incidences of children with elevated blood-lead levels in vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency awarded more than $5.2 million in grants under this ambitious program. These targeted grants are intended to address immediate needs of the communities in which they are awarded, and will also highlight lead poison prevention strategies that can be used in similar communities across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role in meeting the federal goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning as a major public health concern by 2010, and the projects supported by these grant funds are an important part of this ongoing effort. According to the Centers for Disease Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million children in the US with elevated blood lead levels. By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000.
Multnomah County Health Department, Oregon - Facilitating Childhood Lead Screening in Pediatric Care
EPA has selected the Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon for a Targeted Lead Grant.
Multnomah County plans to use $99,014 in EPA grant money to reduce childhood lead poisoning in Multnomah County, Oregon. The County will adapt existing stepwise chronic illness screening approaches for use in screening children for lead exposure risks in community health clinics. The stepwise screening method is expected to lower the time and resources needed for clinic staff to screen children for lead, and thereby increase screening rates and identify more children with elevated blood lead levels. Project objectives include:
- Develop an acceptable stepwise screening process in collaboration with community clinic partners.
- Pilot the screening model in 1-3 community clinics to ensure acceptability and feasibility.
- Incorporate pilot findings into a Clinic Lead Screening Toolkit.
- Begin to disseminate the screening approach and Toolkit to other clinics in the Portland Metro Area.
The goals are to: 1) increase the use of lead screening tools in medical practices serving low-income residents; 2) increase the number of children screened for lead exposure; and 3) increase the number of clinical care providers adopting the stepwise lead screening model.
For more information about EPA's Lead Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD.