JACKSON ANNOUNCES
$31 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM DANGEROUS LEAD
PAINT HAZARDS - Lead hazard will be eliminated from thousands
of low-income homes
WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso
Jackson today awarded more than $31 million in grants to twelve
state and local communities to protect children and families
from dangerous lead-based paint hazards in homes. The awards,
under the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration grant program,
will target funding to communities with the greatest need, specifically
those with a high incidence of lead poisoning, and older rental
housing.
"Today's
announcement illustrates how HUD is continuing its work with
communities that have special health concerns," said Jackson.
"The communities receiving grants today have demonstrated
that they are fully committed to making their older housing
safer and healthier places for children."
HUD's
lead grants will help twelve local projects in California, Illinois,
Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin
to conduct a wide range of activities including cleaning up
lead-based paint hazards and improving living conditions of
lower income families. Eligible jurisdictions for the grant
program include those with at least 3,500 occupied rental-housing
units built before 1940. This funding will allow communities
to eliminate dangerous lead paint hazards in thousands of privately
owned, low-income housing units.
Through
its seven grant programs, HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and
Lead Hazard Control promotes local efforts to eliminate dangerous
lead and other hazards from lower income homes; stimulates private
sector investment in lead hazard control; educates the public
about the dangers of lead-based paint; and supports scientific
research into innovative methods to identify and eliminate health
hazards in housing.
On
March 8, 2006, HUD published its FY 2006 SuperNOFA (Notice of
Funds Availability) for HUD's Discretionary Grant Programs,
which included a Program Section addressing three Lead Hazard
Control grant programs. Awards under that NOFA were announced
on September 15, 2006. At that time, HUD re-opened the Lead
Hazard Reduction Demonstration NOFA to make additional awards
utilizing uncommitted funding. This NOFA closed on October 31,
2006.
