CLEVELAND — A new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority did not tell the federal government about children with lead poisoning at its properties, and Cleveland City Council is demanding accountability.

What You Need To Know

  • CMHA did not report 14 cases of children with elevated lead level to HUD, according to new report

  • CMHA didn't consistently conduct thorough environmental investigations in five of the 14 cases

  • Cleveland City Council is asking its health department for an independent review

Councilman Richard Starr has the highest number of CMHA housing units in his ward.

“Just because you live in public housing, that don't mean you should be treated any way,” Starr said.

Starr along with members of Cleveland City Council are demanding action following the report which said CMHA did not report 14 cases of children with elevated lead level to HUD as required by federal regulations.

“They did nothing but slap paint on the walls and (didn’t) report it the correct way they (were) supposed to. Just shows that some people don’t care,” said Starr.

The report also found that CMHA didn't consistently conduct thorough environmental investigations in five of the 14 cases and didn't investigate one of those cases at all.

“Allegations in this report claim were that possibly rooms were painted over before CMHA completed their investigations and we want to make sure that those repainting instances did not impact Cleveland’s investigation of these elevated blood-lead-level cases,” said Rebecca Maurer, Ward 12 Councilmember, Cleveland City Council.

The council wants the city’s health department to conduct an independent review. They’ve asked to bring the parties together to find out where things went wrong.

Dr. David Margolius, public health director for the City of Cleveland, said he's looking forward to having discussions with city council and said there is much more work to be done to make Cleveland a lead safe community.

"CMHA certainly needs the opportunity to explain all of the steps that they have taken and are taking to protect our children,” Margolius said.

CMHA sent out a statement that said in part, "CMHA has a long-standing commitment to proactively addressing LBP (lead-based paint) in our housing developments... We are dedicated to continuous improvement in our LBP management practices until this critical issue is fully resolved for all CMHA residents.”

“It’s sad to me to believe that this could be going on in 2024,” Starr said.

City council is demanding is demanding CMHA come up with a plan to address all the problems uncovered by the report.

They’ve asked to bring CMHA, the city's building and housing, and health departments together to explain their lead-testing policies together for a joint meeting on July 31.

They'd like health care providers to partner with the city health department to test all children living in CMHA units for lead. They want CMHA to lay out its testing plan Including who it hires to complete testing, a testing schedule and methodology.

More than 90% of homes in Cleveland were built before lead paint was banned in 1978. The rate of lead poisoning in Cleveland is four times the national average, according to the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition.