1802-13901

The purpose of this grant is to continue to build the capacity of healthcare consumers in state to meaningfully engage in policy and systems change; to improve the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health; to enhance collaborative, cross-blade infrastructure processes, shared power, and decision-making; and to elevate health equity and social justice approaches within the Oral Health 2020 Network that are fully informed by, and reflective of, community voices. The work in this proposal will build on a number of key successes from last year such as Convening an Oral Health Advisory Group focused on the role of promotores in oral health, developing a portfolio of resources for promotores to use when supporting patients at all age ranges from pregnancy to 55+, creating guides for promotores to understand and support their patients on the newly re-established Denti-Cal benefit, and are putting the finishing touches on an Oral Health Toolkit for promotores across the state to use. In this next year the work more specifically will focus on finalizing and disseminating the Oral Health Toolkit across California and Nationally, training and mobilizing Vision y Comprimiso's Advocacy Committee around priority local and state policies, and support the work of the California Oral Health Network. This aligns with the OH2020 goal of shifting the public perception of oral health with a target of increasing oral health in overall health dialogue and in public policy. The budget for this proposal is $100,800 and is primarily to support staff time, travel and resources necessary to deepen community connections.