News Archive

IU McKinney students and faculty are part of a broad coalition of medical professionals, legal scholars, government officials, educators, and community and child advocacy groups who have signed a petition asking the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to update its action level for childhood lead poisoning.

Jennifer Phillips, a 2019 graduate, and Ann Skirvin, a current IU McKinney law student, are leading efforts with Professor of Practice Janet McCabe to update Indiana’s reporting, monitoring, and preventive measures for lead poisoning.

IU McKinney Professors Florence Roisman, Aila Hoss, and Cynthia Baker are also part of the coalition, which includes professionals from other IUPUI schools, the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP, Indiana Legal Services, Northwestern University Environmental Advocacy Clinic, Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, the Notre Dame College of Science, the Notre Dame School of Law, and the ACLU of Indiana.

The petition was presented to State Health Commissioner Kristina Box on July 16, who put the issue on the agenda of the ISDH Executive Board meeting for Wednesday, July 24, and has since been the focus of news stories in the Northwest Times of Indiana and Indiana Public Radio.

The petition asks that the ISDH lower Indiana’s action level to 5 micrograms per deciliter (dL) by updating its regulation.  

 “I hope that this petition leads to ISDH updating the rule and to more Indiana kids getting the services they need,” Phillips said. “I also hope that it will help increase awareness in general about the dangers of childhood lead poisoning.”

Lead poisoning poses a serious health risk for Indiana children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no safe level of lead in the blood. Low-level lead poisoning can result in neurological harm, learning and behavioral problems, and lowered IQ. Lead harms children’s school performance at levels even below 5 micrograms/dL of lead in their blood, the CDC’s current threshold for medical intervention and home inspections.

Indiana’s regulations currently do not require that children with lead poisoning receive many crucial services unless they are found to have at least 10 micrograms/dL of lead in their blood, twice the recommended CDC standard since 2012. Unless a child’s blood lead level (BLL) reaches that level, Indiana health departments are required only to notify the child’s healthcare provider of the screening and provide educational materials to the child’s family.

In 2016, at least 1,655 children had lead in their blood above 5 micrograms/dL (the CDC’s current threshold for medical intervention and home inspections) but below 10 micrograms/dL (Indiana’s BLL action level) meaning that potentially hundreds of children who should have received case management services did not get them.

Phillips became interested in childhood lead poisoning issues in Professor Roisman’s Health and Housing Law class. She started researching Indiana childhood lead poisoning laws and wrote a research memo for academic credit. That research, including the case management level issue, led to the creation of a work group of interested faculty, students, and community members.

Since Phillips graduated, IU McKinney law student Ann Skirvin has been active on the issue, organizing the petition and a fact sheet, and outreach efforts.

Phillips hopes to use the experience and skills she’s gained in advocacy, collaboration and persuasion in her career as an attorney, but she’s most hopeful that the petition will help Indiana children.

“It’s been easy to get people involved because they care about children's health and understand how harmful lead poisoning can be,” Phillips said. “The petition is just one part of the work we have been doing, and lowering the case management level to 5 micrograms/dL is just one small way to address lead's many harms.”

“I have been blown away by the quality of the work done by Jennifer and Ann.  This effort gives our students great exposure to the work it takes to research an issue, build a coalition for change, interact with decision-makers and, perhaps most surprising, to understand how long it can take to make change,” Professor McCabe said.