New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Issues Request for Proposals for Lead Remediation and Abatement Grant Program

• Posted on: 11/04/2022

$180 Million Will Be Used to Address the Ongoing Threat of Childhood Lead Poisoning

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs today announced that it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new Lead Remediation and Abatement grant program. The RFP will provide $70 million over two years to conduct lead-safe repairs and energy efficiency improvements in residential units built prior to 1978. 

“We encourage nonprofit organizations and local governments with experience in running lead hazard control programs to submit a proposal,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who serves as DCA Commissioner. “When it comes to attacking lead poisoning in our neighborhoods, we need effective community partners to assist DCA in this critical work.”

These funds will be used to identify and remediate lead-based paint hazards through measures such as encapsulation and replacement that are designed to temporarily reduce human exposure to lead-based paint hazards. The funds will also be used for lead abatement measures that provide a long-term solution by removing lead-based paint hazards through replacement and/or repair. 

Funding priority will be given to proposals that serve areas with the highest level of need, based on the number of children under the age of six with elevated blood lead levels.

The RFP can be found at LRAP_Announcement.pdf (nj.gov). Non-profit 501c (3)s and units of local government with experience in administering lead hazard control and/or weatherization assistance programs are eligible to apply.

The RFP announced today is part of the Murphy-Oliver Administration’s commitment of $180 million of American Rescue Plan funds in the FY22 and FY23 state budgets to DCA to address childhood lead paint poisoning. The funds will be used to provide community-based organizations with money to conduct lead-safe repairs and energy efficiency improvements in residential units, and to address lead hazards through employment opportunities and apprenticeships, and seed capital to recruit trusted community-based organizations from underserved and disproportionately impacted communities into the field of lead hazard abatement. In 2023, DCA will launch a training institute to engage local community-based organizations to build their capacity to participate in this program and to perform this work in their communities.

A second RFP will be announced later in the state fiscal year for high-performing agencies, for organizations proposing innovative methods of addressing this issue, and for rapid response to emerging issues.

DCA encourages applicants to consider creative and cost-effective lead-safe or lead-abatement activities to remediate/abate lead-based paint hazards in eligible units. A portion of the available funds will specifically be set aside for the following municipalities: Camden, Newark, Paterson, Passaic, and Trenton.

DCA offers a wide range of programs and services, including local government management and finance, affordable housing production, fire safety, building safety, community planning and development, disaster recovery and mitigation, and information privacy.

For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: