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EPA Lead Program

Grant Fact Sheet

Increasing Methods of
Prevention for At-risk Children

Cleveland, Ohio

EPA has selected the Cleveland
Department of Health in Cleveland, OH
for a Targeted Lead Grant.

The Department plans to use the grant
money to provide training to staff members
in childcare centers to collect blood samples
within targeted areas of Cleveland that have
the highest rates of childhood lead
poisoning as well as to educate parents and
caretakers.

Cleveland is a major urban area with a
documented high incidence of lead
poisoning in young children, well above
national and state averages. Cleveland
also has a high incidence of known risk
factors including large numbers of old
homes with deteriorating lead-based paint
and lead-contaminated bare soil and
dramatic rates of unemployment and
poverty.

EPA's grant funds are earmarked to provide a lead prevention program that will:

•	Provide training to childcare centers' staff members to collect blood samples from
children,

•	Provide lead education and outreach materials to parents and caregivers, and

•	Educate parents and caregivers about grant and loan programs that are available to
assist with home repairs, lead hazard control measures and available lead-safe work
practices training.

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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