Campaign To Increase Blood Lead Screenings, Decrease Childhood Lead Poisoning

January 2005

A large focus on community outreach was the safety of children, because they are the most at risk for lead poisoning. At their meeting on January 12, 2005 the CAG addressed this issue by going over the Nebraska Coalition to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning Plan. They cited lead poisoning as the leading preventable environmental health disease of children in Nebraska. The Douglas County Health Department and the CAG worked together to develop this plan. 

One key aspect of the plan was the “Sipper Cup” campaign. This campaign focused on outreach to parents of young children, encouraging them to make sure they have their kids’ blood lead levels tested. The campaign was especially focused on targeting parents with children between one and three years of age, because toddlers are susceptible to lead poisoning from putting things like lead paint chips or contaminated soil in their mouths. They also believed that it would remain effective over time as the kids got older. 

The objectives of the campaign were to increase blood lead screening in Omaha’s children, promote cleaning in houses to remove dust and raise community awareness. According to the plan, only thirty percent of children under seven years old living in Douglas County were screened for lead in 2003; yet, over 20,000 children under seven were living in zipcodes where most houses were built before 1950 (and 80% of the county’s total minority population lived in these zip codes), so these children were likely exposed to lead paint. With this plan, the county’s health department and the CAG hoped to provide families with information and resources for lead-exposed children, catch high blood lead levels early on and prevent childhood lead poisoning. 

To accomplish these goals, they planned to use simple, memorable slogans: “Got Lead? Get Help!” ; “To Be My Best, I Need A Lead Test!” ; and “At 1, 2, And 3 — Get A Lead Test For Me!” (Nebraska Coalition to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning Plan, 55). These slogans were to be printed in both English and Spanish, then put on stickers, magnets, banners and sipper cups supplied during a screening campaign. The campaign involved giving away informational pamphlets and merchandise with the slogans. They aimed to give free sipper cups to families with children under four years old, hand out stickers freely and target magnets towards homeowners, landlords and families with children. The merchandise, with a focus on the sipper cups, would be handed out at clinics where children could be tested, starting with clinics in areas with higher risk factors for lead poisoning. 

When the materials were given out, families were to be asked by the clinic to fill out a registration card. The registration card would be used to add children' s information into an Excel spreadsheet at Douglas County so that they could send families an expanded information packet, periodic updates and birthday cards with reminders to get screenings. 

This campaign furthered outreach to families with toddlers, in English and in Spanish, which was really important because they were at such a high risk for childhood lead poisoning. It spread information regarding lead poisoning prevention and aimed to increase the amount of children being screened for lead.

Reference:

United States Environmental Protection Agency, “"Sipper Cup" Campaign from Nebraska Coalition to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning Elimination Plan,” History of Environmental Inequalities, accessed December 4, 2025, https://steppingintothemap.com/inequalities/admin/items/show/393.