The Minnesota Department of Health Lead and Healthy Homes Program (LHHP) is announcing the availability of swab team services grants for the 2024–25 biennium.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
State: Minnesota
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/14/2023
Size of the Grant: $650,000
Grant Duration: 2 years
Details:
This grant program is authorized under Minnesota Statutes 144.9512. “Swab team services” are defined as activities that provide protection from lead hazards primarily through the use of interim controls. Examples of interim controls include:
- Removing lead dust by washing, vacuuming with high efficiency particle accumulator (HEPA) or wet vacuum cleaners, and cleaning the interior of residential property;
- Removing loose paint and paint chips and repainting or installing guards to protect intact paint;
- Covering or replacing bare soil that has a lead concentration of 100 parts per million or more;
This grant includes three areas of work:
- Education and outreach
- Blood lead testing
- Swab team work
Goals and Priorities
These grants are intended to train workers, provide lead screening, education, outreach, and swab team services for residential properties. Projects that provide AmeriCorps funding or positions, or leverage matching funds, as part of the delivery of the services will be given priority for the grant funds. In addition, proposed projects should address health equity. Applications do not need to address all aspects of the grant scope of work. However, LHHP will attempt to fund a combination of applicants that address all three grant areas of work. LHHP will also attempt to assure coverage of services provided by these grants extend statewide.
Priorities
Health Equity Priorities It is the policy of the State of Minnesota to ensure fairness, precision, equity and consistency in competitive grant awards. This includes implementing diversity and inclusion in grant-making. The Policy on Rating Criteria for Competitive Grant Review establishes the expectation that grant programs intentionally identify how the grant serves diverse populations, especially populations experiencing inequities and/or disparities. Applicants will describe how their proposal promotes diversity and inclusion and improves health equity. Applicants shall also include an evaluation plan for their proposal. This may include, but is not limited to:
- Serving children and pregnant women across Minnesota with a high risk for elevated blood lead levels, based on housing, income, recent immigration, or other factors
- Serving children and pregnant women living in neighborhoods with a history of elevated blood lead levels, such as those identified by Minnesota Public Health Data Access maps.
- Serving children and pregnant women who face barriers to accessing health care and blood lead testing
- Providing swab team worker training to individuals who are from low-income neighborhoods or face other social or economic barriers
- Hiring program staff who are members of the diverse communities served by this grant
Grant outcomes will include:
- Increased blood lead testing rates among children and pregnant women at high risk for lead exposure
- Increased knowledge of lead exposure in high-risk communities
- Reduction of lead hazards in housing
- Increase in the pool of available swab team workers to serve high-risk communities
Funding Information
- Estimated Amount to Grant: $958,000
- Estimated Award Maximum: $650,000
- Estimated Award Minimum: $50,000
Project Period
The total amount of the grant funding for the entire grant period (August 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025).
Eligible Projects
The following tasks are considered to be eligible activities for work to be done as part of the swab team services grant:
- Education and outreach
- Provide instruction to residents and property owners on the home environment and appropriate lead control techniques
- Provide lead dust cleanup equipment and instruction to residents to allow them to more safely address lead hazards in their home environment
- Blood lead testing
- Conduct blood lead testing events for screening children and pregnant women Swab team work
- Provide on-the-job training to swab team workers
- Provide swab team services on residential properties for primary or secondary prevention
- Provide lead hazard reduction through abatement or interim controls undertaken to make a residence, child care facility, school, or playground lead-safe
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applications are nonprofit organizations. Organizations must have current 501(c)3 status from the IRS.
For more information, visit MDH.
