Running head: Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Katie Brogan
Wayne State University

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

On October 27, 1956 the City of Warrens charter was signed, establishing Warren as a
City. (Commision, 2014) As of 1978 the City of Warren had approximately 52,000 homes being
occupied by individuals and families. (Data.com, 2014) The year 1978 signifies a change in
homes; effective January 1, 1978 lead base paint was banned from being used in homes along
with other products. (Authority, 2010) Lead is a toxic metal that causes health problems, that
effect children most often. In 2010 approximately 8,200 of Warrens residence were under the
age of five. (Bureau, 2014) Lead can enter the body through particles in the air or by ingesting
paint chips. Once lead is in the body it can damage vital organs, such as the brain, kidneys,
nerves, and blood. (Development, 2014) This toxic metal affects children most often due to
childrens growing bodies absorb more lead than adults and also children put their hands and
items in their mouth that could be contaminated with lead. (Development, HUD.GOV U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014) In 2012 there was approximately
450,000 children had elevated lead levels in their blood in the United States this number is only a
reflection of children that were tested. Also during this time federal funding to combat lead
poisoning in the United States went from 30 million to 2 million, greatly reducing the funding
available to states. (Pediatrics, 2014) If a family suspects that their home might have lead there is
a grant that families can apply to make their home a lead safe home. In order to qualify for this
grant the following requirements must be met: Have a child that is 6 or under or a member of the
household is pregnant, Have a low to moderate income, Live in a home that was built before
1978, Live in Macomb County or other designated areas, and own or rent the home. If all of
these requirements are met the family can apply for a federal grant that could cover up to $8,000
of work. This work could possibly include new windows, doors, painting and special cleaning
for lead. When applying for this grant participants must be willing to allow field staff full access

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

to their home, children 6 and under must have their blood drawn prior to the improvements and 6
months after, the family will have to must likely move out of the home during the improvements,
and the family must be willing to help either monetarily or by physical labor. (Department, 2014)
Some of the problems that families may have with the commitments are being able to move out
of their home. The families that are serviced by this grant are economically disadvantaged and
coming up with the money for lodging might not be manageable. Also with these commitments
some individuals might not have money to help with the project and have a mental or physical
impairment that would prohibit them from physically assisting the project. The families that
have limitations from helping physically would have to look for friends, family members, or
community organizations to help with the physical labor.
When asking members of the community on the facts and opinions of lead poisoning, it is
evident that more education needs to be done. Out of the individuals surveyed 70% had some
idea what lead poisoning is. When the individuals were asked what percentage of children are
affected by lead poisoning, answers were given ranging from 1% to 100%. The individuals
surveyed that knew what lead poisoning is did not seem to think of it as a social issue that needs
attention, only 52% of the respondents stated that more needs to be done. Responses of what
needs to be done included nothing, banning lead based paint, and requiring home inspections.
One interesting fact that several of the individuals brought up was that they mentioned that lead
based paint was found in lower income areas. When discussing with lay leaders of the
community they all knew what lead based paint poisoning is, how children get lead into their
bodies and what causes lead based poisoning. When the time came to discuss what needs to be
done all where at a loss of ideas. They know it is an issue that is affecting children, that is
caused from their homes. All members of the group recognized that steps have been taken to

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

reduce lead based poisoning such as banning lead based paint, removing lead from batteries and
other items. The problem that stumped the group was that the lead poisoning is coming from
private homes. Government can require housing inspections on foreclosed and abandoned
homes and condemning the homes until issues with lead paint are resolved. What can be done
with homes that individual privately own, when the lead based paint was put in it was legal. In
order to properly remove lead paint form homes the average cost for a home is $10,000 for a
house of 1,200 square feet.
Residents that participated in this survey varied in age, social economic statues, and
ethnicity. One of the major findings from this survey is that people do not know enough about
lead poisoning and they think it is a problem of the past. Individuals need to be educated on the
four Ws, Who is at risk, What causes lead

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Table 1

ID

Gend
er

Ag
e

Ethnicity

F
1 F

32 Caucasian
60 Caucasian

2
3
4
5
6
7
8

M
F
M
M
M
F
F

62
42
26
50
48
46
46

9
1
0
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
2
0
2
1
2
2
2

Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
Caucasian
African
52 American

48 Caucasian

Education
Level
Bachelors
Degree
High School
Some
College
Associates
High School
Associates
High School
High School
High School

Knew what
Lead
Poisoning is

Estimated
Percentage
of Children
affected by
lead
poisoning

Does more
need to be
done to
prevent lead
poisoning

What should
be done to
prevent lead
poisoning

No
Yes

1% no
20% no

n/a
n/a

Yes
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
Yes

20%
10%
50%
1%
50%
5%
15%

n/a
Education
n/a
n/a
n/a
education
education

Associates

No

50% no

banning

no

65% no

n/a

22 Caucasian

High School
Some
Colleges

no

50% no

n/a

50 Caucasian

Associates

Yes

30% Yes

education

51 Caucasian

High School

Yes

50% Yes

Education

23 Caucasian

High School

No

2% Yes

Education

27 Caucasian

High School

Yes

20% Yes

Education

High School

Yes

60% no

n/a

65 Caucasian
African
24 American

Associates

Yes

60% Yes

Education

42 Caucasian

Associates

Yes

30% Yes

Education

36 Asian

High School

Yes

1% no

High School

No

15% Yes

41 Hispanic
African
79 American

High School

Yes

5% no

M
M

35 Caucasian
43 African

High School
Associates

Yes
Yes

40% Yes
25% Yes

no
Yes
no
no
no
yes
Yes

n/a
Education
n/a
?
banning

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

3

American

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Survey
1) What is your Gender?
2) What is your Age?
3) What is your Ethnicity?
4) What is your Educational Level?
5) What is lead poisoning?
6) What percentage of children are affected by lead poisoning?
7) Is there enough being done to prevent children from lead poisoning? If not what more
needs to be done?

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Informed Consent

Title of Project: School of Social Work classwork

I invite you to participate in a class assignment for Katie Brogan. This assignment will
ask 3 questions that will be used solely for the purpose of submitting a class paper. The
results of this survey will not be used in any research study or for any other reason than
for a school social work assignment.

You have been chosen to participate in this survey due to your geographic location.

By signing below you accept to take part in this class assignment.

Signed Consent forms in attach file

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

Works Cited
Authority, M. S. (2010, September 2010). Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Progam, Policy
Statement, Lead-Based Paint Requirements. Retrieved from
https://michigan.michigan.gov/documents/mshda/MSHDA-Policy-Bulletin-3-LeadBased-Paint_356001_7.pdf
Bureau, U. S. (2014, December 5). United States Census Bureau State and County Quick Facts.
Retrieved from United States Census Bureau:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/26/2684000.html
Commision, C. o. (2014, December). City of Warren Historical Commision . Retrieved from
http://www.cityofwarren.org/index.php/historic-commission
Data.com, C. (2014, December). City-Data.com. Retrieved from http://www.citydata.com/city/Warren-Michigan.html
Department, M. C. (2014, December 5). Macomb County Health Department Lead Investigation
. Retrieved from http://health.macombgov.org/Health-Programs-EnvironmentalHealthRiskAssessment-Lead
Development, U. D. (2014, December 5). HUD.GOV U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Retrieved from http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?
src=/program_offices/healthy_homes/healthyhomes/lead

Community Assessment and Intervention Plan

10

Development, U. D. (2014, December). Lead. Retrieved from

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_11875.pdf
Last Name, F. M. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title, Pages From - To.
Last Name, F. M. (Year). Book Title. City Name: Publisher Name.
Pediatrics, A. A. (2014, December 5). AAP Commends CDC for Reognizing That for Children,
There is No Safe Level of Lead Exposure. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/enus/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Statement-CDC-Revised-Lead-ExposureGuidelines.aspx