Mississippi

Historically, the Mississippi Lead Poisoning Prevention and Healthy Homes Program (MS LPPHHP) has referred children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) greater than or equal to 15 μg/dL to the Mississippi State Department of Health First Steps Early Intervention Program (EIP). EIP is a voluntary program, and most parents accept their referral; however, children with elevated BLLs less than 15μg/dL were unable to qualify for these services.

In January 2019, the State Interagency Coordinating Council lowered the threshold for an EIP referral from 15 μg/dL to 10 μg/dL. The council made this decision following input from the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Pediatric Clinician and data analysis from MS LPPHHP that highlighted the number of children that would be eligible for a referral at a BLL of 10 μg/dL.

For children with elevated BLLs greater than or equal to 10 μg/dL to receive EIP services, a referral form must be submitted by MS LPPHHP. After receiving the referral, EIP completes the following steps:

1. A notice of referral letter is mailed to the family within two days.
2. A service coordinator is assigned and contacts the family within five days.
3. The service coordinator has forty-five days to determine eligibility by conducting a comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluation assessment of the child and family.
4. An Individualized Family Service Plan is developed that identifies educational, medical, and developmental services needed to support the child and family. The family is linked to social support and services, ensuring the provision of family-focused, evidence-based early intervention practices within thirty days.

Additionally, MS LPPHHP and EIP are in the process of revising the Child Health Referral form to make it a two-way referral, which would also allow EIP to make referrals to MS LPPHHP.

Since lowering the threshold for automatic EIP eligibility, the MS LPPHHP has made 40 referrals to EIP for children with elevated BLLs greater than or equal to 10 μg/dL. Furthermore, decreasing the blood lead level (BLL) threshold for EIP resulted in referring 22 children to services needed to improve their quality of life that they would not have received when a threshold for a referral was a BLL greater than or equal to 15 μg/dL.