Evaluation of the Targeted Refugee and Foster Care Component of the Philadelphia Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP): Building a Model for Interagency Collaboration

Refugee and foster care children experience a disproportionately high burden from lead poisoning due to increased vulnerability, frequent exposures, and healthcare access barriers. The Philadelphia Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) has recognized these populations as ideal groups for targeted primary prevention efforts due to both their high burden of disease and the opportunity to take advantage of existing structures surrounding their placement within the local community. The CLPPP, in partnership with community-based organizations that place children in foster care and provide refugee resettlement services, is currently launching an initiative focused on primary prevention of lead poisoning through interagency collaboration. The new program plans to incorporate screening of homes for lead hazards into the basic inspection that is already performed, as well as provide families with education about lead poisoning prevention, including awareness of culturally relevant non-paint sources of lead exposure and the importance of screening.

The evaluation plan presented here was constructed in the early stages of program planning and relied heavily on stakeholder input. It sets out to evaluate the process and outcome of the lead poisoning prevention activities themselves, as well as the underlying interagency collaboration formed to achieve this goal. These interagency relationships will be examined using well studied and documented tools.

This presentation will provide a detailed description of the evaluation plan, discuss the evaluation process, and report findings to date, with a particular focus on the evaluation of the development of a successful interagency collaborative.