1712-13656

This investment supports Youth Empowered Solutions (YES!) to continue expanding a national youth network and incorporating a youth-focus into the existing infrastructure of the Oral Health 2020 network. Building on the work done in Years 1 and 2, YES! will train adults on youth empowerment framework; facilitate the inclusion of youth in the OH2020 network infrastructure; and activate youth to address the social determinants of oral health by increasing their critical awareness, policy planning, and advocacy skills. Specific activities of Year 3 will include: engaging a third cohort of three organizations to begin the three-year training cycle of youth engagement; advancing the two previous cohorts (seven organizations) to the next stage of training; offering bi-monthly virtual learning opportunities for adults and youth around skill and capacity development, policy, equity, and strategy; designing and hosting an OH2020 pre-convening session to raise up youth voices; producing a toolkit for organizations partnering with youth; and supporting a youth member on the National Oral Health Connection Team who will also form a youth-focused Network Response Team. The work will advance the systems change outcome of building a strong community prevention and care infrastructure. It aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal of improving public perception of the value of oral health within overall health and the target that oral health is increasingly included in health dialogue and public policy. $174,130 will support personnel time, travel and meeting expenses, stipends for participating organizations, and supplies.