Statewide Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Florida State Department Of Health, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Abstract

[unreadable] Childhood lead poisoning remains a major threat to young children in the state of Florida.[unreadable] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 22,000 children may be[unreadable] poisoned in the state (CDC 2003 Program Announcement 03007, Appendix III). Children under[unreadable] the age of 72 months of age, particularly children under 36 months of age who are low-income,[unreadable] living in pre 1978 housing, or children who are minority or foreign born are at an especially high[unreadable] risk for lead poisoning. These populations are the target of childhood lead poisoning prevention[unreadable] efforts in Florida.[unreadable] Since the establishment of the Florida Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program[unreadable] (FL CLPPP) in 1992 the program has expanded from a basic surveillance program to a[unreadable] comprehensive statewide program that works to prevent childhood lead poisoning and ensure[unreadable] children with lead poisoning receive effective case management services. Between 1992 and[unreadable] 1999 three county health departments (Miami-Dade, Duval, and Pinellas) in Florida concurrently[unreadable] sought and received independent funding from the CDC to operate Childhood Lead Poisoning[unreadable] Prevention Programs (CLPPPs). The statewide FL CLPPP was created in 2003 when the state?s[unreadable] lead poisoning funding scheme changed from four separate grants to one overarching[unreadable] cooperative agreement between the CDC and the Florida Department of Health (FL DOH).[unreadable] Presently the state and local CLPPPs work as one to design, support and coordinate activities[unreadable] such as establishing protective policies, developing partnerships, and integrating lead safety[unreadable] measures into the operation of existing health, housing and social service programs through[unreadable] training and risk education.[unreadable] Over the past three years the FL CLPPP has become more sophisticated in its approach to[unreadable] addressing this completely preventable condition. Significant improvements have been made to[unreadable] data systems used to conduct blood lead testing surveillance and analysis. The process by which[unreadable] the FL CLPPP coordinates and monitors case management also continues to improve. In the[unreadable] near future all county health departments will begin receiving Medicaid reimbursement for case[unreadable] management activities and high quality case management services will be continued as case[unreadable] managers statewide participate in an interactive on-line training and utilize the FL CLPPP?s[unreadable] updated Case Management Guidebook.[unreadable] The program continues to experience a significant rise in the level of support for lead[unreadable] poisoning prevention activities across the state. This increased support and commitment has[unreadable] resulted in the creation of Florida?s Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Childhood Lead[unreadable] Poisoning by 2010 (The Elimination Plan) and its 2006 Action Plan. The driving force behind[unreadable] the statewide initiative, the Committee for the Elimination of Childhood Lead Poisoning, is[unreadable] growing and members bring much needed attention to this often overlooked childhood health[unreadable] issue. The robust planning, monitoring and evaluation framework developed through the[unreadable] strategic planning efforts exemplify the diverse backgrounds, skills and resources brought to the[unreadable] committee by its 60 members.[unreadable] Building on this solid foundation, the FL CLPPP proposes to continue its work with the[unreadable] Committee for the Elimination of Childhood Lead Poisoning to institutionalize lead poisoning[unreadable] prevention in the state by establishing protective policies and expanding prevention initiatives in[unreadable] high-risk rural and urban areas. Towards this end, the FL CLPPP has proposed two new subgrantees[unreadable] and additional staff in the state CLPPP office in Tallahassee to implement new[unreadable] protective policy, primary prevention and evaluation activities included in this cooperative[unreadable] agreement proposal.[unreadable] At the state level, 2.5 new positions (a Healthy Homes Project Coordinator, an Evaluation[unreadable] Specialist and an Administrative Assistant) are proposed to advance the programs activities[unreadable] towards the lead poisoning elimination goal. These individuals will assist in building and[unreadable] maintaining strategic partnerships with health, housing and community organizations,[unreadable] conducting thorough and useful evaluation activities and leveraging new public and private[unreadable] resources to remediate lead hazards for children at high risk. One of these positions, the Healthy[unreadable] Homes Project Coordinator position will be placed in the Florida Department of Health?s[unreadable] Division of Family Health. The primary focus of this project, called the Florida Healthy Homes[unreadable] Project, is to enlist existing home visitation programs targeting pregnant women and high-risk[unreadable] children in the identification and remediation of lead hazards in homes before a child becomes[unreadable] poisoned.[unreadable] Refining the collection and use of surveillance data for evaluation purposes is also a[unreadable] focus of this proposal. The proposed Evaluation Specialist position will enhance the programs[unreadable] ability to collect and utilize qualitative data and surveillance data to monitor case management[unreadable] services; assess the performance of providers in compliance with the blood lead screening[unreadable] recommendations; monitor sub-grantee primary prevention activities and evaluate the overall[unreadable] effectiveness of strategic planning efforts.[unreadable] Enhanced capacity at the state level will expand the FL CLPPPs ability to provide[unreadable] additional technical support and trainings to local sub-grantees and partners in the areas of grant[unreadable] writing, partnership building and evaluation. The proposed positions will work to ensure[unreadable] counties have the capacity needed to develop proposals that effectively leverage additional[unreadable] resources to lead poisoning prevention efforts.[unreadable] New lead poisoning prevention initiatives are occurring at the local level as well. In[unreadable] addition to the existing programs in Duval and Miami-Dade Counties, two additional high risk[unreadable] counties, Hillsborough and Palm Beach, have been included as sub-grantees in this proposal.[unreadable] These counties have the second and third highest number of lead poisoned children each year in[unreadable] the state. The two new programs will focus on developing partnerships to establish local[unreadable] ordinances and will work to enhance lead education and screening activities by training the staff[unreadable] of existing child health and social service programs.[unreadable] All four sub-grantees will play a key role in enrolling families in Florida?s Healthy[unreadable] Homes Project. They will also work to leverage public and private resources to connect families[unreadable] enrolled in the project to free or reduced cost lead hazard reduction services. Through this[unreadable] primary prevention project Duval County will target foster home families and neighborhoods[unreadable] identified with significant numbers of lead poisoned children and older homes. Hillsborough and[unreadable] Palm Beach will do the same while Miami-Dade will take the lead on targeting foreign born[unreadable] children and will focus on both traditional and non-traditional sources of exposure including take[unreadable] home exposure from occupations or hobbies, the use of home remedies and lead glazed pottery.[unreadable] With the continued support from the CDC these program components will grow and[unreadable] garner additional backing from key partners including child health advocates and state and local[unreadable] governments. As these activities continue the number of childhood lead poisoning cases in[unreadable] Florida will continue to decrease until reaching the ultimate goal of elimination.[unreadable]