Saturday, May 10, 2025
5/10/2025
Early Childhood Housing Condition, Education, and Criminal Behavior - Project Summary (Abstract) Exposure to lead early in childhood leads to cognitive impairment and stunted neurological development. Approximately 1 in 40 children between ages 1 and 5 in the U.S. have elevated blood lead levels (over 5 micrograms per deciliter) (Mott 2023). Social scientists have hypothesized that this exposure may be a driver of negative later-life outcomes, such as future educational impairment and criminal activity, but the available data have limited rigorous testing of these hypotheses. The objective of this study is to use linked data from South Carolina for Medicaid recipients to assess the long-term consequences of exposure to lead on life-outcomes. All children of Medicaid recipients must be tested for blood lead levels before the age of five, which enables this study to link lead exposure in childhood to lifetime education and criminal records. To establish causality, this study will use the 1978 federal ban on lead paint in newly constructed housing as a natural experiment. Using address information in linked Medicaid records, the analysis will compare the outcomes of children who lived in houses built just before and just after the ban in the same geographic area. This study would directly address the needs and goals of the NIH in its analysis of a known neurotoxin and its evaluation as a major public health concern, and would also provide insight into the direct impact of lead exposure on long-run quality-of-life outcomes.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).