1512-11675

This investment supports Oral Health Colorado (OHCO), the fiscal agent for Smart Mouths, Smart Kids (SMSK), to spread a network of sustainable school-linked oral health programs to promote health equity in Colorado and beyond the state. Specifically, OHCO will incorporate feedback and upgrades into the SMSK Toolkit, including the Data Collection Tool and the feasibility calculator, so that they are fully functional and available to all users; develop a communications and marketing plan to assist communities implement in-school oral health programs; plan and develop adaptations to the Toolkit so that it can be spread across the network; and build partnerships with key national stakeholders, including the School-Based Health Alliance, to ensure the tool is widely available and used as the network works to integrate oral health into the primary education system. As schools work to integrate oral health into their systems, it is critical that they are equipped with the necessary tools and resources to support oral health's inclusion in a sustainable and holistic way that improves the health of students. $138,552 will be used to consultants' time needed for the work's implementation, which includes website updates and refinements, feasibility calculator refinement, marketing plan development and rollout, strategic promotion of SMSK toolkit at national conferences, and technical assistance to Colorado Communities (3 targeted locations each quarter); upgrades to the data collection tool; an external evaluation to track impact and progress; and administrative costs associated with the proposal's implementation. This proposal aligns with the OH2020 Goal of incorporating oral health into the primary education system and the target that by 2020, the 10 largest school districts have incorporated oral health into their systems.