Wayne County, MI Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)
Key Facts
- Ages covered
- 6 months to 6 years
- Governing chapter
- Ch. 151, §§ 151-1 to 151-8
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 2003-748, eff. 10-16-03
- Administering agency
- Public health division, Dept. of Health & Human Services
- Cost
- Free if uninsured; Medicaid billed directly
- Exemptions
- Physician certification or written religious/other objection
- Funding source
- Lab-reimbursement revenue plus federal grants
Summary
Wayne County, Michigan runs a childhood lead testing program under Code of Ordinances Ch. 151, screening children ages six months to six years for lead poisoning countywide, regardless of neighborhood risk level. The public health division provides free blood lead tests to uninsured families, bills Medicaid for enrolled children, and allows exemptions for physician certification or religious objection.
Subject to appropriations therefor, the public health division of the department of health and human services is authorized to implement a childhood lead testing program for Wayne County children whether or not they reside in areas defined as high-risk. This program shall provide for blood lead tests for children between the ages of six months and six years of age. ... The division shall also conduct the testing and screening program without charge for those children who meet the age requirements of this chapter and whose parents or guardians are unable to obtain blood lead tests for their children due to lack of insurance coverage. All other children meeting the age requirements of this chapter may be tested and the parents or guardians shall be charged the cost of testing the blood samples by the state laboratory. The public health division shall bill Medicaid directly for the cost of testing Medicaid-enrolled children.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 151, adopted by Ord. No. children carries unacceptable blood lead levels, that African-American children are almost five times as likely and low-income children eight times as likely to suffer lead poisoning as other children, and that about 74 percent of pre-1980 privately owned housing contains lead-based paint (which led the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban lead paint manufacture in 1978). Section 151-3 authorizes the public health division of the Department of Health and Human Services, subject to appropriation, to implement a testing program for children six months to six years old whether or not they live in a high-risk area, using free state-supplied testing equipment and the state laboratory.
Testing is free for uninsured families and billed to Medicaid for enrolled children; others pay the state lab's minimal public-health rate. 2888 and usable only for screening purposes. Section 151-6 requires written notice, hospital referral, re-testing, and treatment information for children needing follow-up care. Section 151-7 requires quarterly reports to the County Commission and a biennial summary to state and local lead agencies. Section 151-8 funds the program through a dedicated childhood lead testing fund fed by lab-reimbursement revenue and federal grants.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 151 is a service and screening program, not a punitive mandate, and carries no fine or civil-infraction penalty for a parent who declines testing. Section 151-5 instead sets an exemption process: a physician's certification that testing is detrimental or inappropriate, or a written statement filed by a parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis citing religious conviction or other objection to blood lead testing, exempts the child. The real compliance point is data handling: registry information under Section 151-4 is confidential under MCL 333.2821 and 333.2888 and may be used only for lead-poisoning screening and testing purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my child required to get a lead test in Wayne County?
Does Wayne County charge for lead testing?
What happens to my child's test results?
What if my child tests positive for lead?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wayne County
Compare Wayne County to another location·View the Michigan building safety overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.