§ 1370-a. Lead poisoning prevention program. 1. The department shall
establish a lead poisoning prevention program. This program shall be
responsible for establishing and coordinating activities to prevent lead
poisoning and to minimize risk of exposure to lead. The department shall
exercise any and all authority which may be deemed necessary and
appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this title.

2. The department shall:

(a) promulgate and enforce regulations for screening children and
pregnant women, including requirements for blood lead testing, for lead
poisoning, and for follow up of children and pregnant women who have
elevated blood lead levels;

(b) enter into interagency agreements to coordinate lead poisoning
prevention, exposure reduction, identification and treatment activities
and lead reduction activities with other federal, state and local
agencies and programs;

(c) establish a statewide registry of lead levels of children provided
such information is maintained as confidential except for (i) disclosure
for medical treatment purposes; (ii) disclosure of non-identifying
epidemiological data; and (iii) disclosure of information from such
registry to the statewide immunization information system established by
section twenty-one hundred sixty-eight of this chapter;

(d) develop and implement public education and community outreach
programs on lead exposure, detection and risk reduction;

(e) require primary health care providers to provide the parent or
guardian of each child under six years of age anticipatory guidance on
lead poisoning prevention as part of routine care, including but not
limited to contact information for the state-designated childhood lead
poisoning primary prevention program serving their county; and

(f) develop and update as necessary, in consultation with the New York
state advisory council on lead poisoning prevention, a standardized lead
exposure risk assessment questionnaire that shall be available on the
department's website for primary health care providers to utilize
pursuant to subdivision two-a of section thirteen hundred seventy-c of
this title.

3. The department shall identify and designate areas in the state with
significant concentrations of children identified with elevated blood
lead levels as communities of concern for purposes of implementing a
childhood lead poisoning primary prevention program, and may, within
amounts appropriated, provide grants to implement approved programs. The
commissioner of health of a county or part-county health district, a
county health director or a public health director and, in the city of
New York, the commissioner of the New York city department of health and
mental hygiene, shall develop and implement a childhood lead poisoning
primary prevention program to prevent exposure to lead-based paint
hazards for the communities of concern in their jurisdiction. The
department shall provide funding to the New York city department of
health and mental hygiene or county health departments to implement the
approved work plan for a childhood lead poisoning primary prevention
program. The work plan and budget, which shall be subject to the
approval of the department, shall include, but not be limited to: (a)
identification and designation of an area or areas of high risk within
communities of concern; (b) a housing inspection program that includes
prioritization and inspection of areas of high risk for lead hazards,
correction of identified lead hazards using effective lead-safe work
practices and, appropriate oversight of remediation work; (c)
partnerships with other county or municipal agencies or community-based
organizations to build community awareness of the childhood lead
poisoning primary prevention program and activities, coordinate
referrals for services, and support remediation of housing that contains
lead hazards; (d) a mechanism to provide education and referral for lead
testing for children and pregnant women to families who are encountered
in the course of conducting primary prevention inspections and other
outreach activities; and (e) a mechanism and outreach efforts to provide
housing inspections for lead hazards upon request. The commissioner of
health of a county or part-county health district, a county health
director or a public health director and, in the city of New York, the
commissioner of the New York city department of health and mental
hygiene, shall also enter into an agreement or subcontract with a
municipal government regarding inspection of the paint conditions in
dwellings built prior to nineteen hundred seventy-eight for the area
defined as the community of concern and may, when qualified staff
exists, designate the local housing maintenance code enforcement agency
in which the community of concern is located as an agency authorized to
administer the provisions of this title pursuant to subdivision one of
section thirteen hundred seventy-five of this title. A portion of grant
funding received to support the local primary prevention plan may be
used to reduce barriers to lead testing of children and pregnant women
within the communities of concern, including the purchase of lead
testing devices and supplies when the need for such resources is
identified within the community. The commissioner, the commissioner of
health of a county or part-county health district, a county health
director or a public health director and, in the city of New York, the
commissioner of the New York city department of health and mental
hygiene, is authorized to enter into agreements, contracts, subcontracts
or memoranda of understanding with, and provide technical and other
resources to, local health officials, local building code officials,
real property owners, and community organizations in such areas to
create and implement policies, education and other forms of community
outreach to address lead exposure, detection and risk reduction. Primary
prevention plans shall target children less than six years of age living
in the highest risk housing in the communities of concern identified.
The plans shall also take into consideration the extent the
weatherization assistance program and other such programs can be used in
conjunction with lead-based paint hazard risk reduction. Funding
provided for this program shall be used for the activities described in
this section and shall not be used for other activities required by this
title.