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February 2, 2005 Issue #3
In this Newsletter:
1) Governor Seeks GTLO Nominations for Childhood Lead Poisoning
Commission
2) State Reports Increase in Medicaid Testing
3) Calvin "Young Leaders" Canvass Three Neighborhoods in Bitter Cold
4) Lead Safe Work Practices Training
5) Touch-Point Service Provider Training
6) City Lead Hazard Control Program gets Good Grades from HUD
7) Change of Date for March Collaborative Meeting
1) Governor Seeks GTLO Nominations for Childhood Lead Poisoning
Commission
Governor Granholm's office contacted Get the Lead Out! to seek
nominations for the newly created Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention
and Control Commission. After conferring with active partners, four
people accepted Get the Lead Out! nomination and submitted their
names. These individuals include Bill Butts with the City of Grand
Rapids Housing Rehabilitation Office, Joan Dyer with the Kent County
Health Department, Julie Bonewell with Spectrum Health, and Get the
Lead Out! Project Coordinator Paul Haan. An appointment is expected
later this month.
2) State Reports Increase in Medicaid Testing
The State of Michigan reports that nearly 45% of children on Medicaid
are now being tested for lead by age 3. Just a few years ago, the
State was reporting overall Medicaid testing at a little more than
20%. Recent legislation calls for testing rates of 80% by 2007.
According to the latest statistics, 44.7% of all Medicaid children had
at least one blood test for lead poisoning by their third birthday. A
year ago, a total of 40.2% of Medicaid children had been tested by
their third birthday. Reports are filed monthly with the Department of
Community Health, updating how many Medicaid children have been tested
for lead poisoning.
The percentage of children tends to go up with age. The December
report also showed that 38.6% of eligible children had at least one
blood test by their second birthday. By their sixth birthday, the
report showed 52.3% of the children had been tested at least once.
3) Calvin "Young Leaders" Canvass Three Neighborhoods in Bitter
Cold
On perhaps one of the coldest weekends this winter, more than 45 young
community activists took to the streets to talk to neighbors about
childhood lead poisoning. These people were participating in the MLK
Young Leaders Weekend hosted by Calvin College on January 14 & 15. The
goal was to speak, face-to-face, with 75 households with young
children residing in older housing.
With capable support from Esther Reyes at the Garfield Park
Neighborhoods Association, Sharon LaChappelle at the Baxter Community
Center and Frank Lynn at Catherine's Care Center, these young people
successfully reached their goal. The result is numerous families in
each neighborhood that have connected with these organizations and
other Get the Lead Out!partners for further assistance in protecting
their children from lead.
Special thanks to our hosts at Calvin College, especially Dr. Randal
Jelks and Calvin student Janelle Vandergrift, for their support.
4) Lead Safe Work Practices Training
A one-day Lead-Based Paint Training for homeowners, renovators and
remodelers will be offered Tuesday, February 22 at Home Repair
Services. The class is free and will teach the skills needed to
minimize contamination when working on surfaces containing lead-based
paint. The class is being offered in cooperation with MasiMax
Environmental Health & Safety Services and the National Paint and
Coatings Association (NPCA).
The class will be held 7:45am – 4:00pm, Tuesday, February 22 at Home
Repair Services, 1100 South Division in Grand Rapids (one block north
of Hall). Reservations will be accepted until the class is filled.
Early registration is encouraged, as last years class filled up
quickly, with more than 80 people attending. There is no cost for the
training. The training program meets HUD-EPA standards.
To promote this opportunity with your constituents, contact paul Haan
at (616) 241-3300 of
gtlo@sbcglobal.net for promotional
materials (newsletter article, fliers, advertisement).
5) Touch-Point Service Provider Training
The half-day Touch-Point Service Provider Training is back for the
spring! This curriculum is designed to teach providers who have
direct, daily contact with the parents of young children how they can
be a helpful resource to prevent childhood lead poisoning. The class
is approved by the Michigan Nurses Association to offer 3.24 contact
hours.
For a modest $20 fee, participants receive training, a locally
developed and applicable resource book, screening pads, posters,
sample brochures, a pocket reference, and more. This local resource
was developed with financial support from the Steelcase Foundation.
The training is provided by Get the Lead Out! partner Michigan Family
Resources at their facility at 2626 Walker Ave NW. Spring training
dates are February 24, March 10, April 14 and April 21. All sessions
are on Thursday mornings from 8:15am until noon. To register, contact
Sue Sipkema at (616) 453-4145 x282 or
ssipkema@michiganfamilyresources.org.
6) City Lead Hazard Control Program gets Good Grades from HUD
Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell received a flattering call from
HUD representatives in Washington DC earlier this winter, informing
him that even in its earliest months, Grand Rapids' Lead Hazard
Control program is a national top performer. Local success prompted
HUD to make last minute arrangements for Grand Rapids to join other
top performing programs for a recent summit in Washington.
The numbers speak for themselves. A little more than 30 days ago, we
reported 15 completed units. That number has been more than doubled to
36 completed units today, with many more in the pipeline. While Grand
Rapids is a modest sized city, production numbers reflect those of
larger, more experienced communities. Credit is due to the partners in
this effort: the Kent County Health Department, Home Repair Services,
Lighthouse Communities, and the Grand Rapids Housing Rehabilitation
Office.
These outcomes are good, but Grand Rapids still has work to do.
Additional energy needs to be spent targeting high-risk families who
live in neighborhoods with exceptionally high rates of childhood lead
poisoning, such as in the Sheridan and Caulfield Avenue neighborhoods,
along Madison Avenue SE, and in the Baxter neighborhood. We would also
like to see more eager participation from landlords.
Families and landlords can apply for the program by calling (616)
241-3300.
7) Change of Date for March Collaborative Meeting
The date of the next Get the Lead Out! collaborative meeting has been
moved up one week from March 2 to Wednesday, February 23. The meeting
will be 3:00 - 5:00pm at the Baxter Community Center. As always,
guests are welcome to come and learn more.
To receive collaborative meeting agenda packets via email, contact
gtlo@sbcglobal.net.
Paul Haan
Get the Lead Out! "Preventing Childhood Lead Poisoning through
Partnership"
Community Leadership Institute, Aquinas College
1607 Robinson Road SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
phone: 616.241.3300
fax: 616.247.9556
email: GTLO@sbcglobal.net |
