Saginaw County health department wins $3.1M HUD healthy-homes grant to tackle lead hazards

The Saginaw County Department of Public Health won a $3.1 million Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Board’s Human Services committee reported in February 2011. Public Health Director John McKellar told the committee the grant will fund a program of lead hazard control and broader healthy-homes interventions for owner-occupied housing and vulnerable households.

The department proposed reinstating five positions—Healthy Homes Program Manager, Environmental Health Specialist II (two positions), a Typist Clerk I/II and a Public Health Nurse—dedicated to program administration, outreach, case management and technical oversight. Committee members recommended accepting the award and restoring the positions, on the condition that all grant funds provide full salary and program support and that job descriptions be submitted to the County’s Labor Relations and Factoring subcommittees for final classification.

Public Health said the program will work with community- and faith-based partners and licensed contractors to remediate lead hazards and provide education and follow-up to affected families. The department emphasized that the grant is federal-funded and will not require a County general-fund match; the Board subsequently approved the acceptance of the grant and the associated staffing changes.