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Jackson announces $168 million to protect thousands of children and families from dangerous lead and other home hazards
Funding builds on remarkable success of HUD programs in healthy housing

WASHINGTON - Thousands of children and families in 28 states and the District of Columbia will live in healthier homes because of nearly $168 million in grants announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The grants, provided through seven HUD programs, will help 72 local projects around the country to conduct a wide range of activities to improve the conditions of families living in lower income housing, including:

• To remove potentially dangerous lead from lower income homes;
• To stimulate private sector investment in lead hazard control;
• To educate the public about the dangers of lead-based paint;
• To fund model programs promoting healthier and safer home environments; and,
• To support scientific research into innovative methods of identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.

"Every family deserves a safe and healthy home to raise their children," said Jackson. "The funding we announce today will help protect children from dangerous lead, fund important research into healthier housing and will create other public and private investment to improve the living conditions of thousands of homes."

Lead Hazard Control Grant Programs

The funding announced today includes more than $145 million to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards in thousands of privately owned, low-income housing units. These funds are provided through HUD's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control and the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant programs. In addition, HUD's Operation LEAP (Lead Elimination Action Program) will provide $8.9 million to stimulate private sector contributions that will enable children to grow up in homes that are free from lead-based paint hazards. HUD will also award $1.9 million in Lead Outreach grants to support public education campaigns on the hazards of lead-based paint and what parents, building owners and others can do to protect children. Further, $1.7 million will assist local research institutions to study ways to drive down the cost and increase the effectiveness of lead hazard identification and control.

HUD's lead hazard control program has a remarkable track record. Since the program began in 1990, more than 26 million fewer homes have lead-based paint. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the number of lead-poisoned children in the U.S. declined by half in the past decade. Today, HUD's program is active in over 115 communities, helping to clean up lead hazards in low-income, privately owned housing.

Healthy Homes Initiative

Every year, children are harmed or become ill at home from a variety of preventable health and safety hazards. For example, childhood diseases such as asthma can be triggered by excessive dust or moisture in the home. Simple home repairs can often prevent injuries from scalding, electrical shock or carbon monoxide poisoning. HUD's Healthy Homes Initiative addresses a multiple of these and other childhood diseases and injuries in the home by taking a holistic approach and addresses housing-related hazards in a coordinated fashion, rather than addressing a single hazard at a time.

The funding announced today includes more than $6.7 million in demonstration grants to identify and eliminate housing conditions that contribute to children's disease and injury, such as asthma, lead poisoning, mold exposure, and carbon monoxide contamination. HUD is also investing more than $2.6 million to support scientific research into new ways of identifying and eliminating health hazards in housing.

The following is a breakdown of the funding announced today:

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov .

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NOTE: Complete individual project summaries are available at http://www.hud.gov/news

The following is a state-by-state breakdown of the funding announced today: