Lead in Kids: California’s Lagging Screening May Fall Further Behind

California is considering eliminating its Child Health and Disability Prevention Program that could set back blood-lead testing for kids, especially in low-income, rural areas. The program has served the crucial function of connecting families to required Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment services (including blood lead testing) and the managed care providers providing them.

Lead Outside the USA: USAID’s “Towards a Lead-Free Future”

With a powerful speech in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power called for a global effort to eliminate toxic lead from consumer goods, stating that “[l]ead poisoning claims a staggering 1.6 million lives each year. That’s more than the deaths caused by malaria and HIV/AIDS combined.”