News

AG Lynch & Children’s Health Forum say statewide lead safety program

on target to remediate 600 low-income units by 2012

Saying that the remediation phase of the statewide lead safety program under the auspices of the Healthy Kids Collaborative (HKC) is firmly in place, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch was joined by community leaders vested in the fight to alleviate childhood lead poisoning to provide a progress report on the program.

Lynch and the community leaders gathered at a home currently undergoing lead remediation, located at 3 Fern Street in Providence’s Smith Hill neighborhood, an area of the city where seven out of ten housing units were built more than 40 years ago. The Fern Street property is a single-family home owned by a single parent with four young children.

HKC is funded by DuPont and conducted as a partnership between the Children’s Health Forum, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the eradication of childhood diseases, and Lynch, with the input and guidance of a commission of community leaders. CLEARCorps USA is performing the remediation work, in partnership with the West Elmwood Development Corporation, Realty Endeavors for Affordable Community Action Program, Blackstone Valley Community Action Program, the Childhood Lead Action Project, and CLEARCorps Rhode Island, to implement the program. The first round of funding was provided to CLEARCorps USA in February of this year, and CLEARCorps and its partners have completed the first quarter of its work.

Lynch said, “This property, now in the process of being brought up to federal and state lead safety standards, is entirely representative of the ones we are targeting under this ambitious $6.7 million remediation program. This older home in an inner city neighborhood will soon provide a safe environment for all of its residents, especially the four young children who will no longer be at-risk for lead poisoning. Thanks to our partnership with the Children’s Health Forum, it’s one of four properties now undergoing remediation, with two already completed. As long as there is one child harmed and one family adversely affected, the eradication of lead poisoning in our state remains one of our foremost responsibilities, and a top priority. We’re hitting the ground running, accelerating the pace, and are on our way to reaching our goal of having 600 low-income units brought up to lead-free standards by 2012.”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also participated in today’s press conference along with William Reynolds Archer III, M.D., Chair of the Board of Directors of CLEARCorps USA, The Honorable Kurt L. Schmoke, a member of the Children’s Health Forum’s Board of Directors, and Barbara Baldwin, Program Coordinator of HKC.

“For years, lead poisoning has been one of Rhode Island’s worst public health problems for children,” said Senator Whitehouse, a former Attorney General for Rhode Island who filed the state’s first lawsuit against lead paint manufacturers. “Attorney General Lynch and the Healthy Kids Collaborative have worked to prevent further harm to our most vulnerable Rhode Islanders, and we can all be thankful for their leadership.”

The Honorable Kurt Schmoke said, “CHF has made a significant commitment to the people of Rhode Island in partnership with General Lynch. I was here when we officially kicked off the outreach and education phase of our program in 2007, and I am proud to stand with the state’s finest leaders today as we celebrate the progress we’ve made so far on remediation. With the help of everyone here, we will achieve our goal of making 600 homes lead safe for our children and families.”

The target areas for remediation are located within low-income neighborhoods with concentrations of families living below federal income guidelines where there are high numbers of children with elevated blood levels, large numbers of families with children under the age of six-years-old, and where there is an older housing stock. The Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Lead, a group that includes representatives from numerous community organizations, identified six neighborhoods meeting these criteria.

The target areas are:

Central Falls, Census Tract 110, Block Group 3, within an area bordered by Pine, Richardson, Fuller, and Hunt;

Pawtucket, Census Tract 161, Block Group 4, within an area bordered by Route 95, Conant, Main, and Comstock;

Providence, Census Tract 25, Block Group 1, within an area bordered by Smith, Orms, Valley, Ayrault and Oakland;

Providence, Census Tract 22, Block Group 1, within an area bordered by Chalkstone, Ayrault, Valley, Wolcott, Regent, and Harold;

Providence, Census Tract 13, Block Group 3, within an area bordered by Route 10, Chapin, Messer, and Union;

Providence, Census Tract 14, Block Group 1, within an area bordered by Cranston, Dexter, and Hanover;

Woonsocket, Census Tract 179, Block Group 2, within an area bordered by Hamlet, Davison, Manville, Bernon, Maple, and Grove.

Barbara Baldwin urged homeowners within the target areas who are interested in applying to have their homes made lead safe to contact the Childhood Lead Action Project if they are in Providence at 785-1310 or Blackstone Valley Community Action Program for areas outside of Providence at 723-4520. A small number of units outside the target areas may also be identified for inclusion in the remediation program. Remediated units, which will be completed at an average cost of $11,500 per unit, will meet the current federal and state standards for lead safety and obtain lead safe certification from the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Acting on the recommendations of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Lead, HKC, headquartered in Pawtucket, instituted a comprehensive multi-year, multi-million dollar program that includes elements of education, outreach, and training, as well as remediation and enforcement of lead-safety regulations. HKC focused its efforts in 2008 on implementing outreach and education programs initiating two pilot projects in lead remediation. In December 2007, HKC announced approximately $1.2 million in funding over two years for outreach and education grants to six community-based organizations across the state, including Blackstone Valley Community Action, Childhood Lead Action Project, East Bay Community Action Program, Thundermist Community Health Center, St. Joseph’s Health Services of RI, and West Bay Community Action Project. Grantees began implementing their programs in February 2008 after finalizing work plans and agreements. At the end of the first year of the grants, approximately 40 percent, or $526,016, had been expended on outreach and education.

During the first year, four of the grantees instituted statewide case management programs providing assistance to 182 families with children whose blood levels fall between 10-14ug/dL, which is lower than the state action level. One grantee is providing case management services for any family with a child with a lead level of 5ug/dL or greater. Other programs include partnerships with community-based organizations to ensure the availability of information on lead safety programs statewide, and the distribution of literature through homebuyer classes, landlord classes, health fairs, home visits to at-risk residents, and outreach to pregnant and parenting teens. Grantees have also expanded the availability of free 3-hour lead-safe remediation classes of realtors and property owners seeking a Rhode Island Certificate of Conformance. In the first year, 196 realtors and property owners attended classes.

The Children’s Health Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing and eradicating childhood diseases that disproportionately affect underserved communities. CHF focuses on outreach, public education, and collaboration with state and cities seeking programs and funding to promote prevention. CHF’s primary activity has been in preventing childhood lead poisoning, the most significant and preventable environmental health problem facing children in the United States.

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