Purpose

The goal of the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program is to reduce childhood exposure to lead and asbestos by making it easier for public school units and licensed child-care facilities to fulfill the requirements set forth in two sets of administrative rules:

• 15A NCAC 18A .2816 Child Care Sanitation Guidelines covering Lead Poisoning Hazards in Child Care Centers, which directs licensed centers to test for lead in water at every tap used for drinking or cooking at least once every three years; and
• 10A NCAC 41C .1001-1007 Lead and Asbestos Inspection, Testing, Abatement, And Remediation in North Carolina Public Schools and Licensed Child Care Facilities, which directs public schools and licensed child-care facilities to address three target areas:
  • • Lead in water used for drinking and cooking,
    • Lead in paint, and
    • Asbestos.

 

All eligible entities can engage in program activities, including full or substantial mitigation of identified hazards, at NO cost, pursuant to funding established by the S105 - 2021 Appropriations Act (SL 2021-180).  Technical and financial assistance for each stage of the program is provided through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Division of Public Health in partnership with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and RTI International, a nonprofit research institute.

Eligible Entities

The Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids program was developed to benefit children in the following entities:

• public schools,
• licensed child-care centers, and
• family child-care homes.

 

Eligible Activities

Participating entities engage in the following activities to complete the program:

• Pre-enrollment webinar with online training,
• Enrollment in the program through an electronic portal,
• Completion of a survey of facility conditions for each of the three targeted areas,
• Testing of facilities based on training and information provided by agency partners,
• Inspections of facilities by agency partners,
• Isolation and/or mitigation of hazardous areas based on test and inspection results, and
• Provision of clean drinking water to staff and children.

Education and training are cornerstones of the program and are accomplished, along with other stages of the program, through the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ electronic portal, a user-friendly online hub for participants. 

Important Dates

Funding for this program is currently required to be obligated by the end of 2024 and expended by the end of 2026.