Project Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Partners: Howard University Center for Urban Progress
Project Contact: Carol Kawecki, ckawecki@nchh.org, 443.539.4158
Project Description: In 1994, NCHH surveyed 13 jurisdictions that received HUD Lead Hazard Control Grants regarding how they designed and administered their lead hazard control grant programs. The survey resulted in a report that catalogued the lessons that the grantees had learned.
There is no one correct way to administer a lead hazard control program. Much depends on local conditions and individual program goals. Even so, jurisdictions struggling to set up their own programs can learn a tremendous amount from the experiences of those that have gone before them, presented in the subsequent report, "Designing and Administering Lead Hazard Control Programs: Lessons Learned to Date." The report was intended to be a "work in progress" (NCHH, 1997), and was divided into three sections. The first section described the context into which the programs must fit and the factors beyond a program's control that would affect its success. The second section listed the major elements comprising any lead hazard control program and presented the options possible under each element. The third section addressed staffing issues. A separate volume contained examples of application forms, financing requests, contracts, mortgage and loan documents, program descriptions, and other written material developed by individual programs.
The programs surveyed had been operational for at least two years, during which time the program managers and staff had learned much about successful and unsuccessful strategies in operating a lead hazard control program.
In 2004, Howard University Center for Urban Progress (HUCUP) contracted with NCHH to update the 1997 report. The 2006 "Designing and Administering Lead Hazard Control Programs: Lessons Learned Update" report emphasizes issues affecting lead hazard control programs with a focus on primary prevention. This report is part of a larger HUD-funded Lead Technical Study undertaken by Howard University to support outreach, education, and prevention in Washington, DC through community-based participatory research approach.
For the updated report, NCHH identified 11 interested, experienced grantees for interviews on topics essential to lead hazard control programming: screening; eligibility and intake; financing; relocation; contractor availability, retention, and cost; production; and outreach and education.
A topic-specific interview tool was designed to identify and record unique program decisions and applications specific to the area of interest. The interview tool included a series of prompts to collect information on important linkages and other matters directly related to the topic. Grantees were given the opportunity to review and comment on the NCHH summary of each interview.
A brief review of the available literature, as well as lessons learned through NCHH's 10-plus years of direct work with lead grantees, also informed this report. Four evaluation studies, one journal article, and the HUD Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control's website served as key reference documents. Although there was some overlap among the grantees participating in the four studies noted above and this study, grantees from all across the country were represented.