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EPA Lead Program
Grant Fact Sheet
Facilitating Childhood Lead Screening in
Pediatric Care
Multnomah County Health Department, Oregon
EPA has selected the Multnomah County
Health Department in Oregon for a Targeted
Lead Grant.
Multnomah County plans to use $99,014 in
EPA grant money to reduce childhood lead
poisoning in Multnomah County, Oregon. The
County will adapt existing stepwise chronic
illness screening approaches for use in
screening children for lead exposure risks in
community health clinics. The stepwise
screening method is expected to lower the time
and resources needed for clinic staff to screen
children for lead, and thereby, increase
screening rates and identify more children with
elevated blood lead levels. Project objectives
include:
•	Develop an acceptable stepwise
screening process in collaboration with
community clinic partners.
•	Pilot the screening model in 1-3
community clinics to ensure acceptability
and feasibility.
•	Incorporate pilot findings into a Clinic
Lead Screening Toolkit.
•	Begin to disseminate the screening approach and Toolkit to other clinics in the Portland Metro
Area.
The goals are to: 1) increase the use of lead screening tools in medical practices serving low-income
residents; 2) increase the number of children screened for lead exposure; and 3) increase the number
of clinical care providers adopting the stepwise lead screening model.
EPA's Targeted Lead Grants
EPA's Targeted Lead Grant Program funds
projects in areas with high incidences of
children with elevated blood-lead levels in
vulnerable populations. In 2007 the Agency
awarded more than $5.2 Million in grants
under this ambitious program. These
targeted grants are intended to address
immediate needs of the communities in
which they are awarded, and will also
highlight lead poison prevention strategies
that can be used in similar communities
across the country.
EPA's lead program is playing a major role
in meeting the federal goal of eliminating
childhood lead poisoning as a major public
health concern by 2010, and the projects
supported by these grant funds are an
important part of this ongoing effort.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control in 1978 there were 13.5 million
children in the US with elevated blood lead
levels. By 2002, that number had dropped
to 310,000.
For more information about EPA's Lead
Program, visit www.epa.gov/lead or call
the National Lead Information Center at
1-800-424-LEAD.
2007 Targeted Lead Grant Program
Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
www.epa.gov/lead

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