Educational Interventions for Lead-Exposed Children Work Group Charge

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (ACCLPP), Educational Interventions for Lead Exposed Children Work Group (working title “Assessments and Educational Interventions Work group” ) will update ‘Managing Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Young Children: Chapter 5 Developmental Assessment and Intervention’ published in 2002.

ACCLPP has determined that updating Chapter 5 is warranted given recent research. In animals, educational interventions have been demonstrated to mitigate the impact of blood lead levels less than 45 µg/dL. (Schnieder et al.,2001; Guilarte et al., 2003). While animal studies cannot be related to humans, there are also some studies of educational interventions improving developmental outcomes for children who have conditions other than lead. This research demonstrates that children with developmental delays or at high risk for developmental delays benefit most from interventions applied at an early age. (Glascoe, 2000; Campbell et al., 2001; Anderson et al., 2003)

The Educational Interventions for Lead-Exposed Children Work Group, in conjunction with the committee, will implement the following charges as provided by the ACCLPPP during the March 2008 meeting and as further discussed during the October 2008 meeting: Compile existing evidence; Review IDEA parts B and C, Special Education and model regulations to provide guidance to state and local governments; and Describe specific action steps for parents, clinicians and educators. To implement the committee charges, the work group will focus on the following activities: (1) make recommendations regarding developmental assessment, intervention and special education services for children with elevated blood lead levels; (2) inventory the existing regulatory and policies that support provision of assessment and educational interventions and mechanisms for ensuring that children with a history of elevated blood lead levels receive the services they are entitled to; (3) provide guidance to state and local governments, parents, pediatric health care providers, lead poisoning prevention programs, educators, and others who work with young children. The work group, in conjunction with the committee, will make a summary of the recommendations for publication.

The following publications will be the core references used by the work group during their project: