LEAD ELIMINATION PLAN

The Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan Implementation and Oversight Committee (IOC) monitors the implementation and evaluation of the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan.

Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning by 2010: What Progress has Wisconsin Made?
In 2004 Wisconsin adopted the mission to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Wisconsin by 2010. Staff of the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program made the presentations listed below at a statewide conference in April 2009 describing progress made to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Wisconsin. They include local, state and federal initiatives that have resulted in changes in policy and practice. 

• The current status of the problem, efforts to eliminate it and tracking progress. View presentation.
• An increase in the testing of high risk children resulted in an increase in the number of children found to be lead poisoned. View presentation.
• Fixing lead-based paint hazards in more than 400,000 Wisconsin homes built before 1950 requires cooperation between a wide variety of partners. View presentation.
• Without efforts by dedicated lead poisoning prevention advocates to carry out initiatives at the community level, elimination of the disease will not be accomplished. View presentation.

BLOOD LEAD TESTING

The Targeting High-Risk Populations for Blood Lead Testing Subcommittee focuses on:

• Assuring age-appropriate testing of all children enrolled in Medicaid and 
• Providing blood lead testing for all children who are uninsured or under-insured.

Health Care Providers Received Newest Blood Lead Testing Reports
In June, more than 1,800 Medicaid providers received the fourth annual Blood Lead Testing Report. These reports were developed through collaboration between the Wisconsin Medicaid Program and the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (WCLPPP). The individualized reports summarize blood lead testing data for children under age 6 within each provider's practice. In addition, providers received a list of untested children in their practice to facilitate follow-up to ensure these children get tested. (Note: Children enrolled in Medicaid are required to have a blood lead test at ages one and two and, if not tested earlier, they must receive at least one test between the ages of 3 to 5.) View report.

Reports Associated with Increase in Testing and Diagnosis of Lead Poisoning
Testing rates have increased dramatically since the release of the first round of reports in June 2006, with a 20 percent increase in the number of Medicaid-eligible children receiving tests. This increase contributed to the identification of more than 800 additional lead-poisoned children over the past two years who otherwise might not have been diagnosed. This is nearly one third of the 2,539 children first diagnosed with lead poisoning during 2007 and 2008. See graphs for time trends.

Despite this improvement, currently only 34 percent of three-year old Medicaid-eligible children have been appropriately tested at one and at two years of age. There likely are many undiscovered lead-poisoned children among the untested 66 percent, many of whom will continue to be exposed to lead hazards in their homes.

Wisconsin Children's Blood Lead Levels Peak in Late Summer/Early Fall
Blood lead levels among preschool age children have long been known to follow seasonal trends. Childhood lead poisoning has come to be called the "summer disease." Various factors are suggested as the cause, such as exposure to soil and dust associated with outdoor play activities during the warmer months. A paper published in the June edition of the Wisconsin Medical Journal explores the seasonality and environmental contributors to lead poisoning in Wisconsin. The authors recommend that health care professionals consider retesting children whose test results approach the lead poisoning threshold during an off-peak period month such as March or April. Read more.  

HOUSING

The Correcting Lead Hazards in Housing Subcommittee seeks regulatory and preventive avenues to identify and control lead hazards in high-risk housing where children under age 6 reside or spend a significant amount of time.

Governor Announces AmeriCorp Grants for Housing Renovation

Community Action Inc. of Rock and Walworth Counties is receiving $126,000 to improve properties in a targeted neighborhood. Single-family homes are being renovated to become safe and energy-efficient according to Energy Star standards and sold to low income eligible buyers. Beloit Fresh Start construction crews will be employed to renovate these homes. Beloit Fresh Start is an education and job-training program which provides opportunities for at-risk youth to gain job skills, work maturity, employability, leadership, and independent living skills while addressing their educational goals toward a high school diploma through the School District of Beloit, GED/HSED, and/or continuing education. Beloit Fresh Start is a program of Community Action, Inc.
 
Madison Operation Fresh Start, Inc. is also receiving $412,970 to build high-quality new homes or renovate existing housing. Operation Fresh Start construction crews of at-risk youth will be employed to build or renovate these homes to become safe and energy-efficient according to Energy Star standards. These homes will also be offered for sale to first time, lower income homebuyers.

Legislation Would Provide Federal Tax Credit to Help Pay for Lead Abatement
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have introduced legislation called the Home Lead Safety Tax Credit Act of 2009. The bill would provide up to a $3,000 tax credit for 50 percent of the cost of lead hazard reduction work done by owners or tenants in low income (less than 185 percent of poverty line) housing built before 1960.

The Education Subcommittee works to provide key stakeholders, parents and caregivers with the knowledge, skills and motivation to take effective action to protect children from lead poisoning.

Teacher Doesn't Clown Around When It Comes to Warning Children About Lead                                 
When Peppi the Clown, aka Patti Peplinski, started teaching in 1978 she gave brochures on lead poisoning prevention to her students' parents. Year after year students arrived in her class with lead poisoning. That's when Patti realized just giving brochures wasn't enough. 

Patti began telling anyone who would listen how to keep children lead-safe. She helped develop lesson plans to teach kids about lead poisoning and how to prevent it. Patti's favorite lessons include The Lollipop Lesson, Lead Dust is Hard to See and The Lead Free Rap. Adding Peppi the Clown to the lessons captivated the children.

"The children come up to see the clown and leave with much more than just a lollipop!" says Patti. "Year after year kids say, 'You were that clown! I remember what you told me!'" That's what keeps Peppi the Clown committed to promoting lead poisoning prevention.

The Lead Education Lessons curriculum is available through Milwaukee Public Schools.

Childhood Lead Poisoning Negatively Impacts School Performance
Did you know that nearly one in every 20 children who entered the Wisconsin school system in the fall of 2006 was known to have been lead poisoned? Lead poisoning is associated with a greater chance that a child will experience problems in school due to learning difficulties and failure. Children who are lead poisoned show a 15 percent decrease in reading scores and 14 percent decrease in mathematical scores on performance tests ( read more).Early childhood lead exposure is associated with higher rates of high school dropout, teen pregnancy and juvenile delinquency (read more ). Preventing childhood lead poisoning is important to prevent early brain damage and to protect children's ability to learn and succeed in school.

Wisconsin Study to Examine Lead Poisoning and Deficits in School Performance
Jeff Havlena and Sheryl Magzamen of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health presented a session at the recent statewide Healthy Communities, Healthy People conference entitled Childhood Lead Poisoning and School Performance - Wisconsin Data. This session described how the cognitive and behavioral issues associated with lead poisoning are likely to manifest themselves in educational settings, resulting in lower test scores, enrollment in special education programs, high rates of absenteeism, and behavioral problems within the classroom. Havlena and Magzamen described the study they will be launching in Wisconsin and the major research questions posed by the study. Contact Jeff at Jeffrey.havlena@wi.gov for more information.

FUNDING AND RESOURCES

The Funding and Resources Subcommittee seeks funds to control lead hazards in housing to prevent lead poisoning.   

City of Waukesha is "Award of Excellence Winner of the 2009 Lead-Safe...For Kids Sake Grant"
DuPont, through its Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP) partnership with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, announced that the City of Waukesha is the Award of Excellence first place winner of the 2009 Lead-Safe...for Kids' Sake grant program, given to communities for proposing and/or demonstrating excellence in implementing effective solutions to make their communities lead-safe. Read more.

"Win-Win-Win" Legislation Attacks Lead Poisoning "Hot Spots"
A coalition of groups in Wisconsin concerned about lead poisoning, especially as it affects children, is working with Senator Spencer Coggs on legislation at the State Capitol that focuses on a key area of lead contamination: windows. Read more.

Housing Trust Fund Act Battles Lead Poisoning
State legislation proposed by Senator Spencer Coggs and Representative Tamara Grigsby would allow cities and towns to establish loan funds for new affordable housing construction and affordable renovation of existing, older homes. Read more.

HUD Announces $117M in Funding to Reduce Lead-Based Paint Hazards
Approximately $69 million for the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program and $48 million for the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program are now available and awaiting applications. The purpose of these programs is to assist agencies in undertaking programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in low to moderate income housing. The deadline for receipt of applications in HUD headquarters is July 20, 2009. Learn more.

The Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program can provide assistance to applicants in preparing proposals. Call (608) 266-5817.

Surgeon General Issues Call To Action to Promote Healthy Homes
Unhealthy and unsafe housing continues to affect the health of millions of people of all income levels, geographic areas, and walks of life in the United States. For example, asthma, lead poisoning, house fires, falls on stairs and from windows, burn and scald injuries and drowning in bathtubs and pools remain leading preventable causes of death, disease, and disability in the United States today. Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson is issuing this Call to Action to focus attention on the public health impact of housing and to begin a national dialogue on how we can promote healthy homes in the United States. The Surgeon General's Call To Action lays out clear, straightforward steps that families, property managers, nonprofit groups and policymakers can take to create a healthier home environment. Read more.

GRASSROOTS EFFORTS

Local Efforts to Fight Childhood Lead Poisoning
Eliminating childhood lead poisoning requires concerted and cooperative action at the federal, state and local level. Learn more about some of the strategies being implemented by dedicated lead poisoning prevention advocates in their Wisconsin communities.