Niagara County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

The Niagara County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program provides case management where children are under the age of six and have elevated venous blood lead levels (20mcg/dl or greater). In addition to monitoring the child's progress, case management includes:

-Educating parents.
-Acting as a liaison between the regional lead poisoning center, the child's physician, and parents.
-Having a public health technician conduct XRF analysis inspection of the child's environment.
-Assuring that the lead source is remediated.

In addition to case management, the program provides educational material and offers home visits to parents whose children have milder blood lead elevations in the 10-19 mcg/dl range.

The goal of this program is to reduce the impact of lead poisoning and to prevent new cases of lead poisoning among Niagara County children.

Outreach activities include annual mailings and trainings to medical practices, presentations at daycares to parents and staff, monthly visits to WIC sites, attendance and display at health fairs and summer activities, and professional assistance on Head Start Advisory Boards. The health department staff have written brief news releases and appeared on cable TV programs with messages about the dangers of environmental lead and the need to test children for blood lead elevations. The software, Leadtrac, enables staff to enter and monitor results of blood lead levels drawn on all children under age six in the county. It also helps to assess progress.