Wisconsin children at risk for lead poisoning.

The 1999 US Government Accounting Agency (GAO) report to Congress documented that among children in the United States, those served by federal health care programs had high rates of lead poisoning but low rates of blood lead testing. To further explore these findings, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services initiated matching the state's blood lead test data file with the Medicaid eligibility file, and with the WIC Program enrollment file. This article examines data analyzed from the matched files for the year 1999. The results of the analysis of Wisconsin data shadowed the national findings contained in the GAO report. About half of the Wisconsin children enrolled in Medicaid and WIC have been screened, the majority of lead poisoned children in Wisconsin receive Medicaid (80%) and WIC (60%) services. Additional data collected by the department on the physical and environmental health of severely lead-poisoned children indicates that lead-coated surfaces and deterioration were identified as the primary source and cause of the poisoning. These findings support the Wisconsin recommendations for blood lead testing of 1 and 2 year olds living in older or renovated housing, and all children enrolled in Medicaid or WIC.