By informing, coordinating, and amplifying efforts across federal agencies, the Task Force brings valuable assets and benefits to tackling complex issues of environmental health risks and safety risks to children and to identifying and implementing strategies to promote children’s health resilience. Key actions include:
- Coordinating and integrating efforts allow for synergy among government leaders; and supporting consistent messages and information helps further the understanding of complex public health topics
- Leveraging each agency’s unique expertise, resources (human, facilities, funding mechanisms), perspectives, and diverse stakeholder networks greatly improves the government’s ability to create effective and productive collaborations to address major public health and safety issues in an efficient manner
- Forging partnerships among federal agencies, as well as with other public and private partners, extends the reach and effectiveness of efforts and enhances the public’s awareness, understanding, and ability to affect change to address these issues
Subcommittees
The work of the Task Force is accomplished primarily through Subcommittees focused on priority areas. Current areas include:
- Asthma Disparities
- Chemical Exposures
- Climate Change, Emergencies, and Disasters
- Lead Exposures
Work Plan
The current work plan (557KB) identifies priority activities of the Task Force and Subcommittees for 2024-2028. The work plan is not inclusive of all activities of the Task Force, however, as opportunities continuously arise for the group to collaborate and support the work of the federal agencies. For each of the priority areas, the relevant subcommittee has identified short- term and long-term actions under the categories of 1) Identifying and Addressing Data Gaps, 2) Regulations and Policy, 3) Communication and Engagement, and 4) Interagency Coordination. The short-term actions are to be completed in two years (2024 and 2025) while the long-term actions are to be completed in three to five years (2026 to 2028). For more details see the full work plan (557KB).
Asthma Disparities
Nearly four and one half million children aged 0 to 17 years in the United States have asthma, with poor and minority children suffering a greater burden of the disease. Decades long trends persist with minorities such as Black children experiencing approximately six times the rate of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for asthma as White children. Additionally, childhood asthma disparities can be greater in disadvantaged communities and other communities with environmental justice concerns, often facing cumulative impacts from pollution and other burdens. Since the formal launch of the Coordinated Federal Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Asthma Disparities in 2012, the Task Force has been committed to reducing asthma disparities in children. The comprehensive plan remains at least as pertinent today as it was in 2012. As federal agencies have drawn national attention to the importance of the social determinants of health the relevance of the Coordinated Federal Action Plan’s strategies to improve the lives of all children with asthma and their families remains a high priority.
Chemical Exposures
Diseases caused by environmental factors in United States children are estimated to account for more than $76.8 billion (2008 dollars) in direct and indirect costs annually, which can cause especial hardship for low-income families and communities. Further, the burden of exposure and disease is generally higher for communities of color. The Task Force is committed to limiting chemical exposures that cause or are associated with childhood illness through the use and promotion of evidence-based prevention measures such as Integrated Pest Management, the identification and reduction of contaminants in children’s food and drink, and by collaborating with partners such as the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) and Collaborative Centers in Children's Environmental Health Research and Translation (CEHRT).
Climate Change, Emergencies, and Disasters
A broad array of federal assessments as well as experience have demonstrated the disproportionate and unique impact of events such as disasters, public health emergencies, and extreme weather events on children. The primary purpose of the Task Force’s work in climate change, emergencies, and disasters is to convene and coordinate federal partners to collectively assess and address gaps and inequities in children’s safety and health, including pregnant and lactating persons, as it relates to these topics.
Lead Exposures
Childhood lead exposure has decreased dramatically over the past 30 years. In November 2016, the Task Force released the Key Federal Programs to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Eliminate Associated Health Impacts report which catalogs federal efforts to understand, prevent, and reduce various sources of lead exposure among children. This report also served as the starting point for the development and release of the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Associated Health Impacts (Federal Lead Action Plan) in December 2018. The Federal Lead Action Plan outlines how to reduce children’s lead exposure through collaboration among federal agencies and with a range of stakeholders, including states, territories, Tribes, and local communities, along with businesses, property owners, and parents. The Federal Lead Action Plan helps federal agencies work strategically and collaboratively to further reduce exposure to lead and improve children’s health. The Lead Exposures Subcommittee continues to track, monitor, and report on the status of activities. Through this and other efforts, the Task Force continues work to protect children from lead hazards, including reducing exposure to lead in all media (i.e., dust, soil, drinking water, and air), that may come from various sources (e.g., paint, food, cultural, and consumer products), with a focus on children living in disproportionally affected and overburdened communities.
The Task Force welcomes input and suggestions on the work of the Subcommittees. Such input can be provided using the Contact Us feature.
