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Southeastern Michigan Health Association/CLEARCorps Detroit

Southeastern Michigan Health Association/CLEARCorps Detroit

March 2019

CLEARCorp:

Here is the March report for the our CLEEC Project.

 

1)            As our Primary Prevention efforts continued, the Wayne State team continued to knock doors. In total, the team has knocked on 7073 doors (98%) of the community, leading to 245 Home Safety Assessments completed including lead education and information about resources.

 

2)            106 households have qualified to have lead swabs taken (family with a child under 6 or pregnant woman).  Of those houses, 86 (81%) had at least one positive lead swab.

 

3)            As we reported last month, we are partnering with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department to help identify homes with lead service lines.  The DSWD has grant funds to replace lead service lines. In total, we have referred 63 households for Lead Service Line Replacement.  CLEARCorps staff has received ongoing training by DSWD staff on using their on-line referral tool.

 

4)            In total, Wayne State and CLEARCorps Detroit have conducted 94 Case Management meetings with families with children under 6 or pregnant women. During these meetings, lead and Healthy Homes education is conducted and in each case, there is an effort to help the family apply for a Lead Abatement grant.

 

5)            In total, 53 completed Lead Safe Home Program applications have been submitted to MDHHS. Many obstacles continue to stand in the way of successful applications. Our staff team worked to help clients with the following challenges/barriers: clearance of deeds; issues with property taxes; assistance with utility issues.

 

6)            We were successful in getting one family from 48206 relocated. As we have tried to relocate families into lead safe housing we have encountered significant barriers. Barriers include:  Getting low-income clients with a negative rental history approved and credit issues. There is also a lack of affordable lead-safe housing.

 

7)            To aid in our efforts to find lead-safe housing for our clients, CLEARCorps staff has joined the Detroit Future City Rental Housing Workgroup. This workgroup is trying to develop strategies to help rental property owners bring their properties up to code and lead safety standards.

 

November 2018

CLEARCorp:

 

Here is our November report for the CLEEC grant -- focusing on the Lead Safe Block: 48206 Project.

 

Starting with data: there have been more than 129 children newly identified with lead poisoning since the grant’s inception June 1. This is a tremendous number for a five month period. Also, 2017 data released from MDHHS indicating that zip code 48206 had a lead poisoning incidence of 19.2%, continuing to be the ‘most lead poisoned’ zip code in Detroit or the State.

 

In response, the Lead Safe Blocks Project was full speed ahead working on our objectives:

  1. The Wayne State team continued our primary prevention efforts, working throughout the zip code, assessing the status of properties. A total of 4626 doors have been knocked, and lead literature left if there is no answer.
  2. Of those 4626 properties, the Wayne State team has conducted 204 Home Safety Assessments checking the home for health and safety issues, educating the family, and administering 4 lead swabs per home to check for the presence of lead paint/dust.
  3. We also continue to target families with a currently lead poisoned child. Each of the more than 129 families with a lead poisoned child has received a call or letter trying to make contact. 31 households have had a Case Management visit.
  4. A major goal is to get each family into one of the lead remediation programs in the city. At this time, this is primarily the MDHHS Lead Safe Homes Program. Fifteen families have submitted an application, 9 applications have been approved and the remainder are on track to be approved. Many obstacles had to be overcome including issues around back taxes, utility shut offs, and unclear deeds. Help from the Case Managers has been invaluable.
  5. We are working with the Detroit Health Department to assure that all properties with an identified lead poisoned child are being referred to the Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department so that we can assure that all of those rental property owners are working towards obtaining a City of Detroit Certification of Compliance with Lead Clearance.
  6. The Lead Safe Blocks Community Meeting/Harvest Dinner held on November 7 to educate the community about lead issues. Parents of all lead poisoned children in the zip code received an invitation to this event. 40 community residents and 6 partner agency resource tables were in attendance sharing a myriad of program information ranging from asthma prevention to wrap around services. This event was co-sponsored by a prominent local community development organization, Central Detroit Christian CDC.
  7. Of those in attendance at the Lead Safe Blocks Community Meeting, seven families requested a Case Management visit.
  8. We are working with MDHHS to begin enforcement proceedings on one property where the landlord/rental property owner is not cooperating with the City of Detroit rental ordinance to make the property lead safe. There are three children with elevated lead levels living at this location.

 

October 2018

CLEARCorp:

 

Starting with data: there have been 129 children newly identified with lead poisoning since the grant’s inception June 1. This is a tremendous number for a four month period. Also, 2017 data was just released from MDHHS indicating that zip code 48206 had a lead poisoning incidence of 19.2%, continuing to be the ‘most lead poisoned’ zip code in Detroit or the State.

 

In response, the Lead Safe Blocks Project was full speed ahead working on our objectives:

  1. The Wayne State team continued our primary prevention efforts, working throughout the zip code, assessing the status of properties. A total of 3,600 doors have been knocked, and lead literature left if there is no answer.
  2. Of those 3,648 properties, the Wayne State team has conducted 193 Home Safety Assessments checking the home for health and safety issues, educating the family, and administering 4 lead swabs per home to check for the presence of lead paint/dust.
  3. We also continue to target families with a currently lead poisoned child. Each of the 129 families with a lead poisoned child has received a call or letter trying to make contact. Twenty-two households have had a Case Management visit.
  4. A major goal is to get each family into one of the lead remediation programs in the city. At this time, this is primarily the MDHHS Lead Safe Homes Program. Fifteen families have submitted an application, 9 applications have been approved and the remainder are on track to be approved. Many obstacles had to be overcome including issues around back taxes, utility shut offs, and unclear deeds. Help from the Case Managers has been invaluable.
  5. We have launched our relocation program and one family was actually relocated to a lead safe home. This means that this family had found their current home untenable regarding lead hazards and sought lead safe housing. CLEARCorps has established a fund of $2,000 per family and helped with security deposit, first and last month’s rent, utility deposits, and moving costs.
  6. We are working with the Detroit Health Department to assure that all properties with an identified lead poisoned child are being referred to the Building, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department so that we can assure that all of those rental property owners are working towards obtaining a City of Detroit Certification of Compliance with Lead Clearance.
  7. There will be a Lead Safe Blocks Community Meeting/Harvest Dinner held on November 7 to educate the community about lead issues. This event is being co-sponsored by a prominent local community development organization, Central Detroit Christian CDC.

 

August 2018

CLEARCorp:

A quick update for August! Things are going well with our 48206: Primary Prevention Project. Here are the highlights:

  1. CLEARCorps and WSU Team continue to meet and communicate regarding protocols.
  2. The CLEARCorps/Wayne State AmeriCorps team continued to document the status of properties in 48206 and work in the community to connect with residents.
  3. 25  Home Safety Assessments were completed in August -- educating parents about lead and providing opportunities for a more intensive Case Management visit with our Case Managers. Since the beginning of the grant, 104 homes have received these services.
  4. The team held 6 in-home Case Management meetings with clients. These families were assisted in filling out lead applications and/or helped to ‘bust the barriers’ standing in their way of applying for a Lead Remediation grant. Since the beginning of the grant, 22 Case Management visits have occurred.
  5. All families are being given information about our Relocation efforts. 
  6. Since the project began in June, there have been 39 children identified with elevated blood lead levels in 48206. All these families have been contacted as possible. In total, twelve families have submitted applications to the CLEARCorps/MDHHS Lead Safe Homes Program. 4 applications have been approved.
  7. The CLEARCorps Healthy Homes Manager continues to maintain the database so that all families in the zip code can be tracked and all staff were trained on how to access the database and enter information.
  8. On the Enforcement front, we worked with the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department and they agreed to move the Rental Ordinance Enforcement work into zip code 48206 sooner than planned. This means that starting September 1, every rental unit in 48206 will be notified, given 90 days to get a Certificate of Compliance with Lead Clearance, or be ticketed and fined. In November, Certificates of Compliance will be publically listed on the City of Detroit website, so that the CLEARCorps/WSU team can work to move recalcitrant landlords into compliance.

 

July 2018

CLEARCorps Detroit:

  1. CLEARCorps/Wayne State team continue to meet regularly to refine protocols and brainstorm solutions to barriers.
  2. The CLEARCorps/Wayne State AmeriCorps team continued to document the status of properties in 48206 and work in the community to connect with residents:
    1. The WSU AmeriCorps team surveyed 4847 parcels to document status of property.
    2. 37 Home Safety Assessments were completed educating parents about lead and providing opportunities for a more intensive Case Management visit with our Case Managers.
      1. 14 homes met the criteria for Lead Testing (having any children living in the home that are 18 years and younger and/or Pregnant women in the home)
      2. 7 homes tested positive for lead.
      3.  The team held 18 in-home Case Management meetings with clients. These families were assisted in filling out lead applications and/or helped to ‘bust the barriers’ standing in their way of applying for a Lead Remediation grant.
      4. All families are being given information about our Relocation efforts.  To date, no family has expressed interest in relocating.
    3. There were 27 children identified with elevated blood lead levels over the past three months in 48206. All these families have been contacted as possible.
  3. The CLEARCorps Healthy Homes Manager completed design of the database so that all families in the zip code can be tracked and all staff were trained on how to access the database and enter information.
  4. We are meeting with the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department in August to develop a process for identifying and referring over rental properties in 48206 for lead enforcement.

 

June 2018

  1. CLEARCorps Detroit team and Wayne State team met to review the project goals and create a game plan.
  2. The Wayne State AmeriCorps team hit the ground running…visiting 42 homes in the 48206 zip code. All 42 homes received a Home Safety Assessment and health and lead education.
  3. 15 houses were tested for lead and 6 had indications of the presence of lead.
  4. 3 families requested Case Management services. These families will be visited in the next month and will be assisted in filling out lead applications and/or helped to ‘bust the barriers’ standing in their way.
  5. All families are being given information about our Relocation efforts.  To date, no family has expressed interest in moving.
  6. The CLEARCorps Healthy Homes Case Manager began putting together a database so that all families in the zip code can be tracked, so that no families fall through the cracks.
  7. WE are working with the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department to develop a process for identifying and referring over rental properties in 48206 for lead enforcement.