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EPA Lead Program

Grant Fact Sheet

Reduce Cases of Childhood
Lead Poisoning

Santa Cruz County, California

EPA has selected the Santa Cruz County
Health Services Agency in Santa Cruz
County, CA for a Targeted Lead Grant.

The Santa Cruz County Health Services
Agency will undertake childhood blood lead
testing, home screening, and home
inspections for residents not covered by the
county's Childhood Lead Poisoning
Prevention Program (CLPPP). Santa Cruz
County has a combination of pre-1978
housing, children from low-income families
and a lack of resources and/or awareness
regarding lead poisoning, all of which are
causal factors in childhood lead poisoning
cases. Specific milestone objectives for the
project are:

•	One thousand (1,000) children from
low-income and/or poor immigrant
families will be screened for blood
lead levels,

•	Children with elevated blood lead levels will be referred to the CLPPP for case
management,

•	Home screening test kits will be provided to families of children having elevated blood
lead levels,

•	Identify pre-1978 homes with deteriorating lead-based paint and referral to county Lead
Hazard Control Program,

•	Decrease the number of children in the county with lead poisoning consistent with the
national 2010 goal of substantially reducing childhood lead poisoning as a major public
health threat.

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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