Connecticut law (effective 2009) requires medical providers to conduct annual lead testing for each child 9 to 35 months of age. Children should be tested 2 times before turning three. In 2011, the CT DPH had its first opportunity to review the 2009 birth cohort to determine provider compliance with this new law. The screening rates show that medical providers are testing almost all children for lead at least one time. The compliance rates for medical providers are lower for testing each child two times before turning three.

These data are current as of April 2019

CT Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;

Licensed pediatricians and nurses;

Laboratories-testing children and reporting blood lead results to the CT DPH;

Publicly and privately funded health insurance providers-reimbursing doctors and families for lead testing services;

Hartford Regional Lead Treatment Center and the New Haven-Yale Regional Lead Treatment Center-educating and providing technical assistance to the medical community;

Local health departments-reaching out to local pediatric offices in geographic areas with lower childhood lead screening rates

Offering capillary lead testing services at the point of care, ensuring that the medical community understands CT laws and published guidelines regarding mandatory lead testing for children and subsequent reporting to the CT DPH, outreach to parents and caregivers of young children through print materials (Low Level Lead Exposure Harms Children: A Renewed Call for Primary Prevention Report of the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012; http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/acclpp/final_document_030712.pdf)

Providing funding to two regional lead treatment centers, providing prevention funding to local health departments enabling them to conduct outreach. Identifying regions of the state with lower childhood lead screening levels (through the DPH disease surveillance system), and offering training to medical providers within that region. Ensuring laboratories (in-office and commercial) report blood lead tests to the CT DPH.