Education Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Lead Poisoning in Children

Lead Prevention and Intervention Resources and Services for Parents

Because of the national objectives in healthy people 2000, 2010 and 2020 related to eradicating lead poisoning in children, funding has been made available to state and local agencies to:

develop educational literature and training programs for parents and health and education professionals;
support housing improvement and abatement projects;
ensure medical monitoring of poisoned children; and
provide screening programs to identify affected children and assess the success of prevention activities.

Since these funding opportunities have resulted in the development of prevention and intervention programs and educational resources in and beyond Connecticut, the purpose of this section is to identify and assist parents to access some of those services and resources. This section can also assist educators in collaborating with others in helping parents access public health, housing, social service and medical resources in their communities, and making appropriate referrals.

Resources for parents are numerous. Many of them in Connecticut are listed below, first by agency provider and type of resource, as follows:

Connecticut Department of Public Health: resources for prevention, screening, and education.
Connecticut Department of Education: resources on Section 504 and special education (IDEA).
Other Connecticut resources: education, medical treatment, and housing.

A few national resources are also provided following the Connecticut resources.

Connecticut Department of Public Health: Resources for Prevention, Screening, and Education

The Connecticut State Department of Public Health (DPH), Lead Poisoning and Control Program homepage provides links to many prevention and intervention resources, relevant laws and standards, the mandated lead poisoning screening program, educational programs on lead poisoning and other information.
The specific statutes and regulations relating to lead in Connecticut are available on the DPH site.
Universal Blood Lead Screening: Connecticut law requires that health care providers screen for blood lead all children at age 12 months and again at age 24 months using a blood lead test. Health care providers are also required to screen any child between 25–72 months of age who has not previously been screened, regardless of risk. Additional blood lead screening is indicated for any child less than 72 months of age with developmental delays, especially if associated with pica. Finally, all children six–72 months of age in HUSKY Part A Medicaid must be assessed for risk, and at a minimum, screened at 12 months and 24 months of age per federal requirements. In addition, blood lead testing must be considered for any child regardless of age with the following: unexplained seizures, neurologic symptoms, hyperactivity, behavior disorders, growth failure, abdominal pain, or other symptoms consistent with lead poisoning or associated with lead exposure; recent history of ingesting, or an atypical behavior pattern of inserting, any foreign object (even if the foreign object is unleaded) into a body orifice.
For information on Connecticut screening results for 2010, the most recent data available, visit the Childhood Lead Poisoning in Connecticut 2010 Surveillance Report. A map of towns indicating the rate of screening by town is provided on page 8 of the report, Map #1. Prior years are available on the DPH's Screening Data page.
Officials in the DPH Lead Program and in local health departments are very knowledgeable about lead poisoning prevention, screening and intervention. Local school district personnel are encouraged to collaborate with local health department representatives in identifying educational, prevention and intervention resources for families in their community. Find your local health department.
Educational Literature for Parents
- The DPH Lead Poisoning and Control Program’s homepage provides links to many resources for families and professionals.
- In the same location, there is an educational form for parents, Birth to Three Developmental Milestones.
- Educational documents
  On the Lead Programs’s Homepage, many DPH documents are provided to many DPH especially under the Resources link. There are educational documents. Many of those listed below are available in Spanish and the top three are available in many otherfact sheets inmany different languages as well. To access any of these documents, including translated versions, it will be necessary to have a PDF reader to open the files. The Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free from Adobe.com.

Child prevention topics

Lead Poisoning Prevention

Housing topics

Connecticut State Department of Education: Resources on Section 504 and special education (IDEA)

Parents are encouraged to ask representatives from their local schools for written resources on Section 504 and IDEA (special education), including information on the rights of students with disabilities under each law. They may also want to review school district procedures implementing these federal laws, and speak with a school official regarding questions they may have. Parents can also make a referral to the school team if they suspect that their child has a disability.

An excellent resource for parents is the State Education Resource Center (SERC) in Middletown, Connecticut. Parents can become members at no cost and can request information and publications for review. SERC is located at 25 Industrial Park Road, Middletown, CT, near exit 21 off Interstate 91 in Cromwell. Parents can also call SERC for assistance at 860-632-1485.

The best publication for parents to request for information on special education is A Parent’s Guide to Special Education in Connecticut (2007)

See the list below for further information with links to the Parents Guide, as well as other CSDE publications.

Special Education Publications	Best Practice Resources; Eligibility Documents; Guidance Documents/Topic Briefs; Parent/Family Resources; and Secondary Transition Resources.
The State Board of Education’s Position Statement on the Education of Students with Exceptionalities (2012)	Position statement on the education of students with disabilities and those with outstanding talents in the creative arts or extraordinary learning abilities.
CSDE’s Division of Legal and Governmental Affairs Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)	Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
A Parent’s Guide to Special Education in Connecticut (2007)	Provides information for parents, guardians and other family members about laws, regulations, and policies affecting special education programs and services.
Before, During & After the PPT Meeting Preparing for the PPT Meeting & Development of The Individualized Education Program (2008)	Planning and Placement Team (PPT) Checklist
PPT 101: Understanding the Basics of the Planning and Placement Team Meeting	Provides information on the process and procedure for referral and eligibility for special education; Individualized Education Programs; PPT; and parent’s role in the PPT process.
Making the PPT Process More Effective for You and Your Child	Provides information on the PPT process.
IEP Manuals and Forms (2010)	CSDE’s guidance to school districts in Connecticut to assist in utilizing the IEP forms.
Writing Standards-based IEP Goals and Objectives	This multimedia presentation is designed to provide a tool and a process for helping Connecticut educators develop standards-based IEPs.
Guidelines for Identifying Children with Learning Disabilities (2010)	This document provides a comprehensive description of the changes in IDEA 2004 regarding the identification and eligibility determination of children with a specific learning disability.

The most current information regarding the rights of students with disabilities under Section 504 is found online at the following two sites:

The following list provides other publications about Section 504 with associated links.

CSDE’s Circular Letter C-13, Series 2008-09, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Procedural Safeguards Reissue of CIRCULAR LETTER C-9, Series 2000-2001	Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Procedural Safeguards
Protecting Students With Disabilities: Frequently Asked Questions About Section 504 and the Education of Children with Disabilities	This document is a revised version of a document originally developed by the Chicago Office of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to clarify the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Section 504) in the area of public elementary and secondary education. The primary purpose of these revisions is to incorporate information about the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (Amendments Act), effective January 1, 2009, which amended the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and included a conforming amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that affects the meaning of disability in Section 504.
CSDE’s Division of Legal and Governmental Affairs Law: Section 504	Section 504 Law
CSDE’s Accommodating Special Dietary Needs in School Nutrition Programs (2011)	Contains information on providing meals for children with special dietary needs, based on federal laws, U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations and Connecticut laws and regulations.
School Readiness Technical Assistance Alert (1999), Number TA/SR # 99-02: Serving 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old Children with Disabilities	Section 504 and School Readiness Programs
CSDE’s Guidelines for Managing Life-Threatening Food Allergies in Connecticut Schools	Allergy management in schools
CSDE’s Guidelines for Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring in School	Diabetes management

Connecticut Resources for Education, Medical Treatment, and Housing

Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center at St. Francis Hospital: Temporary housing information and links to prevention and treatment information available on the Lead Treatmen Center page.
Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital Lead Poisoning and Regional Treatment Center: Information on local resources for treatment, housing and education available at the Lead Poisoning and Regional Treatment Center page.

Connecticut State Department of Education