Lead Abatement Training for Underserved Populations: Lessons Learned

An environmental-justice (equity) grant program was used to make accessible an existing lead-training program to minority persons and residents of low-income communities. The purpose of the program was to enhance the knowledge base within the communities concerning lead hazards and intervention strategies and expand possibilities for employment in the lead abatement industry. Barriers to attendance were anticipated and addressed, and included transportation, meals, license application fees, reminders of course date and location, and day care. The program was evaluated through measures of recruitment rates, pre- and post-testing scores, and change in perception of confidence at pre-test, post-test, and at four-month follow-up. Fee-paying registrants over the same time period were used as a comparison group. First day attendance rates for individuals recruited into the equity-grant was 59 percent, of these 94 percent completed all days. Equity and fee-paying groups had similar scores on the pre-test (p = .2...