1511-11584

Kentucky: Support to Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) to strengthen and empower the oral health network in Kentucky through local coalition building, dissemination of oral health resources and tools, and development of collective statewide policy agenda. Specifically, KYA - working in close partnership with the Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) - will engage, support, and connect with five regional coalitions across the state to grow and strengthen the network around the common goals; create an interactive and crowd-sourced Kentucky Oral Health Bright Spots Map to highlight champions, best practices, data, stories, and innovation; and build consensus around a collective statewide policy agenda and implement an advocacy campaign to reach targets. The overall goals of this work include connecting already established oral health networks that exist in Kentucky and building awareness about the importance of oral health and the impact of health disparities and poorly distributed resources across the state. This broader network will work collectively toward the Oral Health 2020 goal of eradicating dental disease in children and the target of closing disparity gaps so that 85% of children reach age five without a cavity. $149,770 will support the personnel and stakeholder convening capacity needed to strengthen the network, as well as consultant services and website design.