July 24, 2006

It is estimated that 40 percent of households contain hazards that could cause lead-poisoning. Although this is clearly a problem that many cities face, too many have ignored the fact that it is entirely preventable. This year at the 2006 Annual Conference of Mayors, Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP), a partnership between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and DuPont, continued its commitment to fighting against childhood lead-poisoning by awarding $375,000 as part of the national lead-safe for Kids’ Sake grant competition. Since the program’s inception in 2002, DuPont and the Conference of Mayors have awarded $3 million to improve living conditions and help make America’s cities lead-safe.

Cities nationwide submitted proposals detailing how each would take concrete steps to eliminate childhood lead-poisoning and make their city safer and healthier for children and families. The CUSP judges looked for innovative and resourceful ideas and rewarded innovative and replicable action plans. Mary Kate Campbell, DuPont’s public affairs manager, announced the three deserving winners: Racine (WI) received the first place Award for Excellence in the amount of $175,000 and two second-place awards of $100,000 went to Baltimore and Columbus (OH).

Racine’s first-place proposal spoke to this reality and caught the judges’ attention with the expansion of its primary prevention outreach team. Focusing on high-risk housing identified through geographic mapping of the most vulnerable neighborhoods and its youngest residents ages one to five, Racine will offer testing, expert consultations and risk-assessments. Also, Racine proposed leveraging the funds by collaborating with existing housing rehabilitation and lead hazard reduction initiatives. Overall, the proposal presented direct action, clear goals and cooperation across city agencies –exemplifying CUSP’s emphasis on teamwork and tangible results.

The two-second place winners exhibited similar resolve; Columbus proposed a leaded-window replacement program that would serve to mitigate one of the most wide-spread culprits in lead-poisoning. Old windows contain hazardous dust that often finds its way into children’s mouths and lungs. Baltimore, also the first repeat winner to-date, proposed strengthening its pre-natal education initiative The Stork’s Nest, by targeting 500 pregnant women who are first time mothers and live in at-risk neighborhoods.

During the ceremony, with Campbell by her side, Conference President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill stated, “I am delighted to stand with our partner, DuPont, in recognizing excellence and distinction in America’s cities. Thanks to these generous grants from DuPont, children across the country will be healthier, stronger, and have better futures.”

Each year the winning cites serve as prime examples for the hundreds of other mayors in attendance, and give an intimate look at a variety of best practices that can be duplicated, for the betterment of other communities. Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran concluded the awards presentation by reiterating how lead-safe…for Kids’ Sake is another great illustration of how, “Public-private partnerships, such as CUSP, are critical to making our cities the strong vibrant places they can be.”