G-2009-16397

This investment supports The Children’s Partnership (TCP) in expanding equitable programs and policies, through advocacy, in support of improved oral health access for communities of color and immigrant communities. TCP has been a long-time partner of the DentaQuest Partnership and plays a critical role in California children’s health policy. TCP has identified several windows of opportunity to engage around including advancing the integration of oral health into home health strategies, advocating for policy that expands the use and effectiveness of teledentistry, and developing resources that elevate the racial inequities that exist in oral health access and outcomes. Additionally, TCP will work to advance the existence of a social determinants of health framework within existing oral health policies and programs in California and Nationally. To do this, TCP will partner with CA-OPEN and other California partners to engage in policy advocacy, community engagement and resource development. The outcomes of this work will be the expanded existence of a racial equity context within California oral health policies and programs and an increased integration of oral health within critical health and community-based services. The budget for this proposal is $50,000 which supports staff time and supplies associated with project deliverables.