G-1912-16021

This grant is to support the California Pan Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) in their work as the backbone organization for California OPEN, to advance policies related to health equity and oral health, and to center the voice of historically marginalized communities. As California continues to make important gains, in 2020 the state will sunset it's current 1115 Waiver which is the foundation of the Dental Transformation Initiative. From this transition comes a number of opportunities to leverage statewide and local networks and partners to engage around oral health system transformation, the role of consumer voice, and building models of care that contextualize the social determinants of health. CPEHN will build on their past work and leverage their statewide network of partners to drive for equitable policies, consumer protections, and components of health systems change that incorporate oral health and social determinants within alternative payment models. CPEHN continues to have strong ties within historically marginalized communities while also being an active player in the state policy arena. Through this they will deepen the level of engagement of network members, expand network infrastructure to allow for broader alignment of new partners, and build consensus around an oral health policy agenda that results in policy advocacy and activation. The budget for this proposal is $150,000 which primarily supports staff time, supplies, and travel associated with the project deliverables.