Our Policy Agenda

Policy Change for Healthier Children

Know

Ensure that every family moving into a new home knows whether there is a risk of lead exposure.

Ensure the passage of legislation that requires disclosure of lead in paint, water, and/or soil based on official records or an inspection at the point of sale or rental turnover.

Educate high risk families about how to access tools for testing, treatment, and remediation.

Identify

Enhance data collection and sharing as it relates to children with elevated blood levels and the presence of lead in homes, schools and child care centers.

State agencies and local bodies must improve data transparency and coordinate not only to provide the public with an accurate picture of the lead issue in NJ, but to prioritize solutions.

For example, data on the general location of the homes of children with elevated blood lead levels could guide remediation.

Fix

Develop comprehensive public and private sector funding solutions for the remediation of lead in paint, water, and soil, from homes, schools, and child care centers.

Because low-income communities and communities of color continue to bear a disproportionate burden of exposure due to deteriorating lead-based paint from older housing, lead-contaminated drinking water from old leaded pipes, and legacy lead-polluted soil, funding mechanisms must prioritize environmental justice.

State and local governments should seek designation of American Rescue Plan funds to remediate lead in homes.

Resources