Success Stories
CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program develops “success stories” in partnership with state and local cooperative agreement recipients to highlight lead poisoning prevention achievements. Each success story exhibits tangible results of prevention and surveillance activities conducted by state and local health agencies. Success stories collectively demonstrate progress toward meeting national program objectives. The stories below are grouped by main topic but may involve strategies related to other topics.
Note: The purpose of these success stories is to share best practices among state and local childhood lead poisoning prevention programs. Data in these stories might differ from what is listed on the state and local health department websites. Definitions and classifications also might vary across jurisdictions and might have changed over time.
The stories below refer to activities conducted between 2014 and 2019.
Some of the success stories below refer to CDC’s previous blood lead reference value of 5 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL). As of October 28, 2021, CDC uses a blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with blood lead levels that are higher than most children’s levels. This updated level is based on the U.S. population of children ages 1–5 years who represent the top 2.5% with the highest blood lead levels.
Blood Lead Testing and Reporting
- Testing Women, Infants, and Children for Lead Exposure in Louisiana
- Increased Capillary to Venous Testing Rates in Kent County, Michigan
- Collaborating with the New Hampshire Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics to Increase Blood Lead Level Testing Rates
- Improving Provider Blood Lead Level Testing Rates Across New York State
- Increasing Capillary Confirmatory Testing for Kids in Oklahoma
- Vermont Develops Provider Reports on Blood Lead Level Data to Increase Testing Rates
- Establishing a Childhood Lead Task Force in Virginia
Blood Lead Surveillance
- Arizona’s Interactive Tool to Map Lead Exposure Risk
- Strengthening Florida’s Surveillance and Improving Data Access to Reduce Gaps in Lead
- Automating Processes for Strengthening Surveillance in Kansas
- Portable Analyzer Blood Lead Level Reporting in Georgia
- Maine Eases Reporting Burden by Achieving Electronic Blood Lead Test Reporting Goal
- Massachusetts Uses New Method to Calculate Accurate Screening Rates
- Making Data Available to Partners in Ohio
- Pennsylvania Re-Establishes Sharing Childhood Lead Data with CDC
- Partnering for Childhood Blood Lead Testing in WIC Clinics, Harris County, Texas
Linkages to Recommended Services
- Creating a Registry to Track Exposure to Contaminated Drinking Water in Flint, Michigan
- Expanded Eligibility for Early Intervention Services in Mississippi
- Establishing a Case Management Protocol with Existing Resources in Nebraska
- Expanding Early Intervention for All Children in Oregon
- Establishing a Referral System to Early Intervention Services in Tennessee
Outreach and Education
- “Get the Lead Out, Alaska!” Campaign Increases Awareness of Sources of Lead Exposure in Alaska
- Printing and Disseminating Education Materials in Kentucky
- Alabama Increases Blood Lead Testing in Children through Provider Outreach
- Teaching Healthcare Providers New Techniques in Missouri
- Physician Education and Outreach in Salt Lake County
- Partnering to Increase Blood Lead Testing in Seattle-King County
Targeted Interventions
- Connecticut is Making Progress in Reducing Lead Poisoning in Black and Hispanic Children
- Strengthening Lead Testing and Surveillance in Hawaii’s High-Risk Neighborhoods
- Lead Screenings for Women, Infants, and Children in Houston
- Targeting Lead Awareness Messaging Toward High-Risk Counties in Iowa
- Testing Pregnant Women for Elevated Blood Lead Levels in New Jersey
- Improving Access to Lead Poisoning Prevention for Newly Arrived Refugees in New Mexico
- Reducing Lead Exposure in Williamsburg Community in New York City
- The Lead and Healthy Homes Program of Philadelphia Targets Poor Housing Conditions
- Lowering Blood Lead Level Rates in Core Cities in Rhode Island
- Reducing Childhood Lead Exposure in South Carolina’s Catawba Indian Nation
Partnerships and Collaboration
- Chicago Collaborates on Lead-Based Paint Hazards
- Collaboration with District of Columbia Public Schools to Improve Lead Screening Rates
- Delaware Partnership with Latin American Community Center
- Partnering for Childhood Blood Lead Testing in WIC Clinics, Harris County, Texas
- Hennepin County Strengthens Coordination to Offer Families Access to Home Lead Testing
- Forming Successful Partnerships with Community-Based Organizations and Others to Increase Blood Lead Testing in the Los Angeles Promise Zone
- Collaborating with Health Networks in Indiana
- Greater Partnership Yields Strong Data in Marion County, IN
- Building Partnerships to Increase Blood Lead Testing and Reduce Lead Poisoning in Baltimore
- Expanding Reach by Breaking Down Barriers in Nevada
- Multi-Stakeholder Partnership in North Carolina Reduces Take Home Lead Exposure
- Successful Partnership with Refugee Health Programs in Washington State
- Developing and Maintaining Collaboration with Strategic Partners in West Virginia