Who would have thought a simple transposed digit would lead to the near-demise of a vital safety program?

A clerical error on a federal grant application has cost the city of Denver nearly $2 million in funds that would have financed the “Lead Safe Denver” program for another year. Officials at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say they never looked at Denver’s grant application because a city staffer used an incorrect DUNS number (a nine-digit number used to track where federal grant money is sent) on the paperwork.

Lead Safe Denver, a 9-year-old program that tests low-income children for lead exposure and offers assistance and info on lead poisoning to needy families, nearly collapsed from the financial loss. The city had identified $360,000 shifted from other programs that will be used to keep the program alive for another year. At that time, the city can apply for another federal grant.

HUD is quick to point out there was no guarantee Denver would have received the funds, but it had received similar grants for the three previous years before the clerical error incident.

Officials say the mistake was made by a “pretty well-seasoned” city employee, but that staff shifts have been made since to prevent similar errors from happening again in the grant application process.

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Tags: Application, Denver, Grant, Lead poisoning, Low-income