Attorney General Letitia James has announced a $100,000 investment to expand childhood lead testing in rural New York. The initiative focuses on Yates and Seneca counties, where blood lead screening rates for one- and two-year-old children currently fall below the state average.
The funding is provided by a $559,250 settlement with Dollar Tree, which followed an investigation into the company’s sale of lead-contaminated applesauce. The settlement funds are intended for lead poisoning prevention and response programs, alongside efforts to increase access to healthy food in underserved areas.
The 18-month project will be managed by the Pivotal Public Health Partnership, a nonprofit composed of seven county public health departments in the Finger Lakes region. The partnership will work to increase screening rates through a combination of community education, social media messaging, and grocery voucher incentives for families who complete the required testing.
Data from 2025 shows that testing rates in Yates County were 41% for one-year-olds and 42.7% for two-year-olds. In Seneca County, the rates were 49.5% for one-year-olds and 49.1% for two-year-olds.
The program will prioritize outreach within state-designated disadvantaged communities to help families facing significant barriers to preventive healthcare. To ensure sustainability, the initiative will coordinate with established systems, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, early intervention services, and local primary care providers.
The project is designed to identify existing obstacles to testing and evaluate which outreach strategies are most effective. If the pilot succeeds, the Attorney General’s office plans to use the model to support other rural communities throughout the state.
