G-1911-15628

This investment supports AltaMed to deepen the engagement of Southeast Los Angeles residents in community-driven oral health policy work in line with the CA-OPEN Policy Priorities. This is in alignment with the DentaQuest Partnership priorities to engage grassroots partners in systems-change advocacy and pursue person-centered models of care. AltaMed is a Southern California non-profit that eliminates disparities in health care access and outcomes by providing quality health and human services through integrated care for Latino, multi-ethnic and underserved communities. In 2017, AltaMed launched a Civic Engagement Program to formalize its efforts to integrate its clinic operations with grassroots community engagement around social determinants of health. In addition, the Southeast Los Angeles Collaborative began work on expanding the non-profit infrastructure in the region to better respond to the issues impacting the communities of the region. The opportunity that exists in California is for AltaMed to expand their Civic Engagement Program to align with oral health and social determinants strategies that align with a broader California oral health agenda. As well, the opportunity is to build a model for aligning care and community in building a cohesive strategy to implement a community-driven policy or systems-change approach to addressing the social determinants of health. Specific outcomes include the mobilization of 20-40 advocates in Southeast Los Angeles residents around health policy and the implementation of a policy campaign that aligns with the CA-OPEN 2019 Policy Priorities. $100,000 will support the time, travel, and supplies to implement and evaluate the project, as well as funding for stipends for community partners.