Lead Exposure in Seventy-Eight Percent of Children in Cuyahoga Universal Pre-K

In an editorial to the Cleveland Plain Dealer on November 1, Poverty Center Co-Director Dr. Rob Fischer discussed the magnitude of the problems from lead exposure on young children. Fischer cited an unpublished 2015 report from the Poverty Center with Cuyahoga County Invest In Children that shows an alarming 78% of the 620 children enrolled in the county's universal pre-kindergarten program tested positive for lead in their bloodstreams.

Though there has been increased media attention on lead prevention and improving the lives of children during their early, developmental years, Fischer worries that officials in cities such as Cleveland, East Cleveland, and other older communities are ignoring the dangers by continuing old policies that don't work and failing to enforce existing laws.

Dr. Fischer was also recently interviewed by the Plain Dealer for another article on effects lead poisoning can have on children's early education. Read Dr. Fischer's full editorial: "Cities must get the lead out of housing to keep children from being poisoned".