Emma Jefferson, owner of Emma’s Children’s Homecare in Calumet City, was among the first to receive free lead service line replacement through LeadCare Cook County. Like many other providers, Emma discovered her water was positive for lead and began paying for filters and other short-term mitigation efforts at her home-based child care facility. Emma said, “When I first found out that I had to do the testing for my pipes and stuff, and it came back positive. So, then, I had to go spend money out of my pocket and put filters on all my lines.”
Lead mitigation can be extremely costly and time-consuming for busy providers. LeadCare Cook County relieves that burden on licensed child care providers by handling the replacement costs and managing the work from start to finish. They can now join Emma in replacing their lead service line for free, creating safer water for the children in their care. Take Emma’s word for it, “If you’re thinking about it, just enroll in it. This program is real.”