Author: Kailee Curtis

Local Health Department

Lead Screening and Response

Lead is a metal that can be found in many places, including in chips of old paint, household dust, imported toys, and, less often, water contaminated by lead pipes. Exposure to lead is bad for everyone, but young children are often most at risk. Making sure that children aren’t exposed to lead is important to their long-term health. Even low levels of lead in blood can affect children’s development.

Key Positions
Public Health Nurse
Billing and Support Staff
Health Educators

The only way to find out if a child has lead poisoning is through a blood test.

Meets Public Health Standards:

ü	Michigan Public Health Code
	Michigan Local Public Health Accreditation
	Public Health Accreditation Board

Services:
Local health departments that participate in blood lead screening will screen Medicaid-eligible children in the WIC program. This screening is done by a finger prick. Children can also be screened by their primary care provider. If a child has high lead levels (above 5 micrograms/dL), his/her family will be contacted by a public health nurse or lead program staff for additional testing, education, environmental evaluation, and follow-up.
Michigan’s Lead Safe Home Program (MDHHS)provides inspections and assistance to qualifying families, as well as rental property owners, in making their homes lead-safe for children. Through collaboration between local health departments and the Lead Safe Home Program, families can receive lead abatement and remediation to their home for little to no cost, resulting in a safer and healthier home environment for the child.

Goals:
Local health department blood lead screening programs aim to:
Detect and eliminate lead exposures in children
Promote healthy brain development in children

Created by the Barry-Eaton District Health Department for the Michigan Association of Local Public Health with funding from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. August 2018.
*37 of Michigan’s local health departments indicated that they participate in lead screening and response activities (of 41 who participated in the survey). Participants might not have answered each question.

Impact:
Screening for and responding to lead exposure in children can help to ensure that children do not develop behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing problems, and anemia.