California

The State of California received $500,000 through cooperative agreement EH21-2102 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in FY 2022. The funds address childhood lead poisoning prevention and surveillance programmatic activities being conducted from September 30, 2022 to September 29, 2023.

The strategies focus on

  • Ensuring blood lead testing and reporting
  • Enhancing blood lead surveillance
  • Improving linkages to recommended services

To learn more about these efforts in California, contact the program below.

California Department of Public Health
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch
1615 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 510-620-5600

Success stories refer to activities conducted between 2014 and 2019. California did not receive funding at this time and was not required to submit a success story.

Success Story 2023

Collaboration with the Department of Justice in California to Increase Testing in Areas Disproportionately Impacted by Environmental Health Hazards

Challenge

The Central District of California is the nation’s most populous judicial district and includes approximately 20 million residents in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. Among all census tracts in the Central District, 60% have three or more geospatial indicators of risk for childhood lead exposure. Geospatial risk indicators include a high percent of pre-1978 housing; proximity to a current or historic lead emitting facility, highway, smelter, small-craft airport, railroad, or speedway; or service by a water district with at least one known lead service line or fitting. These sources are often located near communities with lower household incomes. The California Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch (CLPPB) and the U.S. Department of Justice partnered to address environmental justice issues related to childhood lead exposure in communities with lower incomes in Central District counties that are affected by illegal dumping and soil contamination.

Intervention

In October 2022, the environmental justice coordinator began participating in a series of meetings to discuss the rights of communities disproportionately impacted by environmental health hazards, including illegal dumping, soil contamination, and childhood lead exposure. As part of these efforts, the environmental justice coordinator shared community-specific flyers (in English and Spanish) developed by CLPPB that provided information about free and low-cost blood lead testing for children in their community, the importance of blood lead testing for children, sources of lead, and ways to prevent lead exposure. The flyer also provided contact information for the local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program for advice on healthy meals for children.

Impact

Since October 2022, 14 community meetings have been held with 292 people attending. Feedback from the community members and the environmental justice coordinator will be included in future flyers developed for the remaining communities within the Central District. This partnership provides an opportunity for the CLPPB to strengthen its commitment to health equity, reach new populations, and provide community-specific resources to improve blood lead testing rates for children.

Funding for this work was made possible in part by NUE2EH001447-02-00 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CDC; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.