OLR Report 2012-R-0226 provides a summary of the law's requirements for testing children for lead poisoning.
The law generally requires primary care providers to annually test children between nine and 35 months old for lead. They must also screen children (1) between 36 and 72 months old who have never been screened and (2) children under 72 months if the provider determines it is clinically indicated. In addition, providers must conduct annual lead risk assessments for children ages 36 to 71 months (CGS § 19a-111g). Individual and group health insurance policies must cover the lead screening and risk assessment mandates (CGS §§ 38a-490d & -535).
Lead testing can also be required in other contexts, such as part of school health assessments for new enrollees or for children enrolled in Head Start.
The law requires health care institutions and clinical laboratories to report on tests showing elevated blood lead levels to local health directors, among others. Directors must provide parents with information after tests show that their children have elevated blood lead levels. When a director receives a report that two blood tests taken at least three months apart confirm a child's blood lead level is over a certain threshold, the director must take various actions, including investigating the lead source and ordering remediation.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) is the lead state agency for lead poisoning prevention. Among various other requirements, DPH must provide funding, within available appropriations, to local health departments to help finance their lead poisoning prevention and remediation services. An act passed this session (PA 12-202) establishes eligibility criteria for local health departments seeking such funding from DPH. Among other things, the act conditions a local department's funding eligibility on DPH approving its lead program, which must include case management, education, and environmental health components.
DPH's website contains detailed information on the department's lead poisoning prevention and control program: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3140&q=387550&dphNav_GID=1828.
The law also provides various requirements related to lead abatement. For example, owners of dwellings with toxic lead levels occupied by children under age six must abate, remediate, or manage the dangerous materials and follow DPH regulations for doing so (CGS § 19a-111c). Local health directors can also order various actions related to lead abatement, such as orders to correct chipped or loose lead-based paint on exposed interior surfaces in rented properties. If you would like detailed information on these or other lead abatement requirements, please let us know.
For more information, read the full report.
