Evaluation of case management services for lead poisoned children in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island mandates that all children under the age of six be screened for lead annually, and that all lead test results be reported to the RI Department of Health. Following the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , the Rhode Island Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (RI CLPPP) considers children under the age of six with a venous blood lead level (BLL) > 10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) to be lead-poisoned. Health effects below this level are well documented;2 ,3 however, due to lack of efficacious interventions below 10 μg/dL, RI CLPPP has retained this threshold as its “action level” for childhood lead poisoning. The services offered to lead poisoned children in RI vary depending on the severity of the poisoning. (Table 1) Case management services are offered through one of four certified lead centers, non-profit Medicaid-funded agencies. In 2007, RI CLPPP conducted an evaluation of case management services. The three main objectives of the evaluation were to determine if: 1) there were demographic differences between families accepting and refusing services; 2) parental knowledge of lead increased after receiving services; and 3) case management services had an impact on children’s BLLs.