News Release

Federal effort delivering progress on priorities to bolster Flint recovery

In letter to Governor Snyder, head of federal effort to support Flint recovery details work to address state request

FLINT, Mich. – Today, in a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its federal partners announced that they are making “substantial progress” on the request outlined by the state to help support recovery and relief efforts. In fact, the federal government has current and ongoing efforts in support of a vast majority of the items in the state’s request, including many of the state’s top priorities.

“We are committed to helping the people of Flint recover from this crisis, and already we are making substantial progress in supporting the state’s top priorities,” said Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response. “Beyond these immediate and short-term federal efforts, HHS stands ready to work with the state on a long-term plan that leverages the range of programs offered by the U.S. government and complements state and local efforts.” 

On January 24, 2016, HHS received the state’s request which included items in the areas of environmental, health, human services, nutrition, and communications through its emergency operations center. In response, the federal government immediately started matching these items with agency programs, services, and expertise. Top priorities from the state included:

• Environmental: Assistance with water sampling and quality assurance testing, and the development of related protocols;
• Health: Assistance with long-term physical and behavioral health planning, including a plan to better prevent, detect, and report Legionellosis;
• Human Services: Flexibility within Medicaid and related case management assistance, including funding to support a non-emergency transportation vendor for the city;
• Nutrition: Flexibility within the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children and other nutrition programs; and
• Communications: Assistance with the development of communications and outreach strategies. 

Below is a list of some of the federal government’s immediate and short-term efforts to address the state’s request. (Outstanding items in the request are subject to continued discussions between the state and the federal government.)       

Environmental

EPA field sampling teams are conducting water sampling at homes with higher levels of lead for analysis and follow up.  In addition, EPA has begun posting preliminary water quality data about chlorine levels in Flint’s drinking water, as well as an interactive map of sampling results in Flint. The map includes data from initial chlorine testing, and as additional and final data becomes available, EPA will post the sampling locations and data to the map. The map is available at www.epa.gov/flint. Finally, the EPA and CDC are supporting the State of Michigan’s request for investigation into rashes reported by the Flint community through the deployment of personnel and technical assistance to state agencies.

Health

Behavioral Health
The Disaster Distress Helpline, sponsored by the HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is available to provide crisis counseling and support to people – including children and families in Flint – who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to “66746” to connect with a trained crisis counselor. 

In addition, an additional temporary team of Commissioned Corps officers will deploy for two weeks to assist with behavioral health response.

Lead
The CDC has presented recommendations for lead testing in children to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). They recommend that all children under 6 be tested by April 1, 2016 and that subsequent services are identified for those children who have a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter or more. Further discussions on these recommendations, as well as the development of recommendations to estimate the level of lead exposure prior to testing, are ongoing with state and local partners.  Similarly, CDC will make recommendations regarding appropriate long-term monitoring for children.

Legionellosis
Staff from CDC are working with MDHHS on a plan to better prevent, detect, and report Legionellosis.

Medicaid
HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has been in communication with the state of Michigan to better understand the items in the request concerning Medicaid-related matters. Several of the items included in the state’s request represent benefits expansions which would normally be processed under State Plan Amendments or waivers. CMS will make available the needed staff resources to work with the state to refine these items and consider them expeditiously. In addition, CMS will implement, as appropriate, State Plan Amendments or waivers. 

Human Services

The HHS Administration for Children and Families and Health Resources and Services Administration are working with their grantees in the area to disseminate public health education through Head Start, Early Head Start, Community Health Centers and other programs to help families understand the risks of lead in the water, encouraging residents to have their children screened, and assisting families in obtaining screening for their children.

Nutrition

Communications and Outreach 

CDC recently completed a risk communication training. Attending this training were approximately 35 persons representing State Health, Genesee County Health Department, and various community organizations and leaders. This training provided techniques and guidelines for providing effective communication to the community. 

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