Our home is nearly 100 years old, located in Western Pa. After reading about the association between lead based paint and criminal behavior I would like to know for certain if our home is posing any risks to us, the inhabitants, or to guests and possibly to a potential home buyer. Has anyone ever done this? What do you recommend? Are there any government agencies who assist homeowners in this?
You could start with a water report from your local utility company to see if there is any lead in your water out of the tap. Water companies add orthophosphates to prevent lead leaching out of the pipework - this is v effective so it would be surprising if there was appreciable lead content in this day and age.
Where I live, the council is responsible for replacing any lead pipework up to your property boundary, and will do so, but you are responsible for anything within your boundary. No doubt things vary around the world.
As for paint, it would only be something I’d take precautions about if I was stripping it with a heat gun or something. [Lead poisoning is of most concern for young children and their developing brains - back in the day young kids were known to chew the windowsill as they stared out the window at the world, which was one way of ingesting lead.]
There are numerous Lead Test Kits available in the USA particularly; here are two evaluations by the EPA and OSHA, just google.
You are right to be concerned, but I don’t know that lead poses a greater danger than modern brain-damaging ( whilst painting ) paints…
The main danger for lead is ingestion and inhalation of particulates. Lead paint is not especially dangerous if it’s intact, but it becomes a hazard if you are stripping paint or doing renovations. In that case, you must hire EPA-certified contractors to handle it properly if the work area exceeds a certain minimum square-footage. You can get lead paint testing kits at your local big-box store for pretty cheap.