Targeting Foster/Kinship care families and placement agencies for primary prevention of childhood lead poisoning

In a new initiative, based on an already existing and successful primary prevention program to prevent Childhood Lead Poisoning, the Philadelphia CLPPP began in January of 2008 a process of working directly with Department of Human Services contracted Foster and Kinship Care placement agencies to identify children less than 6 yrs old in new home placement; encourage blood lead testing of all such children at their pre-placement medical evaluation; and testing of placement homes built before 1978 for lead-in-dust by training placement agency personnel to take dust-wipe sample during walk-through inspection of potential Foster and Kinship care properties. We committed to providing both staff in-service training on lead and dust wipe sampling techniques, as well as providing one of the minimum six hours of training required for foster parents on areas of child health and well-being. By making the process purely voluntary for the Foster parent and by providing supplies, mailing materials and dust wipe analysis free of charge to the placement agency, as well as connection to Lead Hazard remediation services as needed, based on dust wipe results, we want to encourage enrollment of this special population in primary prevention of lead poisoning. Results of this pilot will be presented.