Rhode Island AG Lynch, Children’s Health Forum, Announce $1.2 Million In Funding For Lead-Safety Outreach, Education

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Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and The Honorable Kurt L. Schmoke, a member of the Board of the Children’s Health Forum, Washington, DC, today announced that a total of $1.2 million is being awarded to six local agencies to conduct statewide community-based outreach, education, and training related to lead poisoning prevention in Rhode Island.

The announcement was made at an 11 AM press conference at Saint Joseph Hospital for Special Care, Peace Street, Providence. Saint Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island is one of the organizations sharing in the funding.

The grants, providing $610,000 per year for two years of new funding to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the state, represent the first round of allocations made by the Healthy Kids Collaborative (HKC), the model statewide lead safety initiative funded by DuPont and conducted as a partnership between the Children’s Health Forum and the Attorney General, with the input and guidance of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission. The Healthy Kids Collaborative was formed as part of the landmark agreement forged by Attorney General Lynch and the DuPont Corporation in June 2005.

Among those joining Lynch and Schmoke at the press conference were representatives of the agencies receiving the grants, Barbara Fields, chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Lead Paint and senior program director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Barbara Baldwin, program coordinator of the HKC.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said, “As a result of our partnership with the Children’s Health Forum, we have initiated an outstanding model program whose goal is to make the awful and harmful effects of lead poisoning in our kids a scourge of the past. Education, outreach, and training are crucial components in increasing protections throughout our neighborhoods and communities, and in preventing lead poisoning from exacting a greater toll on our children’s health, and their futures. Everyone here today is passionately dedicated to our shared mission, and I am honored to join with Kurt Schmoke as we empower local organizations throughout the state to combat exposure to lead and enable Rhode Island’s children to grow and thrive free from suffering from its damaging and long-lasting effects.”

The Honorable Kurt L. Schmoke, former Mayor of Baltimore and currently Dean of the Howard University School of Law, said, “The Children’s Health Forum is honored to be part of this groundbreaking lead awareness initiative to provide funding where it is needed most—the community-based organizations that impact the health and safety of our children and families. CHF was founded to eradicate childhood lead poisoning, and we’re pleased to join with the Attorney General and the people of Rhode Island to take a significant step forward in that direction. With these funds, we are investing in the future of our children, our most valuable resource.”

The six organizations receiving funding were selected by the HKC through a request for proposals (RFP) process initiated in September. The organizations and the amount each is receiving are as follows: -MORE-

AG LYNCH, CHF, ANNOUNCE LEAD POISONING PREVENTION GRANTS DECEMBER 18, 2007 PAGE 2

Childhood Lead Action Project. $110,000 per year over two years. The Childhood Lead Action Project will use the funding to expand the staff to increase neighbor-to-neighbor outreach in Providence, as well as to support property-owner training classes.

East Bay Community Action Project. $110,000 per year over two years. The Project will use the grant monies to add a lead coordinator and expand staff to increase outreach throughout the East Bay communities, from Newport to East Providence.

West Bay Community Action Project. $110,000 per year over two years. Along with increasing outreach activities from South County to Cranston, the Project will use the funding to add a lead coordinator and to expand staff for education and case management.

Saint Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island. $110,000 per year. Saint Joseph will add a lead coordinator and one full-time lead counselor to its staff in order to expand outreach and training activities in Providence.

Blackstone Valley Community Action Program. $90,000 per year. Outreach activities will be increased in Pawtucket, Lincoln, Cumberland, and Central Falls with the addition of new fulltime employees who will expand education and case management activities, in addition to outreach, in the four communities.

Thundermist Health Center. $80,000 per year. Outreach activities will be increased in Woonsocket with the addition of a project manager to oversee fee for service activities of participating organizations implementing the model.

Lynch said that funding will also be made available to each organization for a third year, subject to a performance review and dependent on ongoing need.

All organizations will coordinate activities with one another to produce a statewide approach that covers the highest risk areas in Rhode Island. This collaborative approach will also avoid duplication and overlap of resources. The Healthy Kids Collaborative will also plan an annual public awareness event each year, organized in partnership with all grantees.

Acting on the recommendations of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Lead Paint, the HKC, headquartered in Pawtucket, is instituting a comprehensive multi-year, multi-million dollar program that includes elements of education, outreach, and training, as well as remediation and enforcement of lead-safety regulations.

The Children’s Health Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing and eradicating childhood diseases that disproportionately affect underserved communities. CHF focuses on outreach, public education, and collaboration with states and cities seeking programs and funding to promote prevention. CHF’s primary activity has been in preventing childhood lead poisoning, the most significant and preventable environmental health problem facing children in the United States.

Source: Rhode Island Attorney General