10/24/2014
October 24, 2014
A hard-fought battle by a broad coalition of child advocates culminated this week with the announcement of $11 million in new funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for lead poisoning prevention. The awards will go to 30 states and 5 cities.
The funding will help state and local health departments monitor the problem of childhood lead poisoning in their communities and use those data to target resources, such as housing rehabilitation funding, enforcement of housing and health codes, and public and health care provider education campaigns.
The data from the states and cities also provide information to CDC, which maintains a national surveillance system with the blood test results for four million children each year. It is this system that identified children exposed to new sources of lead including toys, cosmetics, and imported pottery.
“Lead poisoning is a preventable tragedy that robs too many children of their future and their full potential. Preventing lead poisoning is a smart investment and a real life saver for many families in Rhode Island and nationwide. Restoring this funding will help improve the health and development of our children and reduce the costs associated with treating lead poisoning,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), who led the charge on Capitol Hill to restore this federal funding as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
Click here to read the full press release and see the list of awards.