G-2310-19983

Voices for Vermont's Children (Voices) is a statewide, multi-issue, child policy, research, and advocacy organization that works to shape the landscape around child well-being in Vermont through advocacy, community, organizing, research, and training.

Voices received its first CareQuest Institute grant in 2022 and leveraged grant funding to launch and conduct a participatory community research effort to better understand systemic barriers driving oral health inequities in marginalized communities throughout Vermont. The project engaged individuals and organizational partners and resulted in the creation of a Vermont oral health landscape report that consists of a data dashboard, survey and focus group results from individuals, benchmarks for current oral health policies and those under consideration, and the results of several organizational assessments that were designed to support cross-sector oral health engagement.

Based on results from the previous grant's research, Voices notes dental workforce shortages are disproportionately impacting rural, Medicaid, disability, and non-native English-speaking communities throughout the state. Support service organizations also indicate that deferred dental care continues to increase and negatively impact systemic health for residents. In 2024, Voices' proposal articulates the organization's plans to strengthen community voice and state advocacy on oral health solutions such as:

Expanding the use of minimally invasive treatments to improve children's oral health and helping adult Medicaid members extend buying power under the state's current Medicaid caps,

Promoting medical-dental integration, which the organization's most recent grant project revealed was a significant area of opportunity among young adults transitioning off CHIP/Medicaid and working people, and

Improving access to care for Medicaid members and uninsured Vermonters, who often live in rural parts of the state where provider shortages have compounding impacts to their overall health.

Furthermore, while advocacy and community engagement will continue to guide the organization's oral health improvements efforts, Voices will also work with the state Office of Oral Health (OOH), which is pursuing medical-dental integration and authorization for medical providers to administer SDF in primary care and other alternative care settings. The proposal notes that Vermont recently established a CDT payment code for medical administration of SDF, so in partnership with Dartmouth's Center for Advancing Rural Health Equity, the OOH will be training providers in a rural FQHC to administer SDF. Voices will also continue monitoring the state's movement toward officially launching the dental therapy education program at Vermont State University. The organization played a significant role in securing authorization for dental therapy nearly a decade ago and sees it as another workforce innovation that would effectively address barriers identified by impacted people.

This proposal demonstrates Voices’ commitment to community-informed policy design and ongoing engagement with marginalized communities and is being recommended for grant funding at the requested amount of $125,000. The organization's plans to lead education and advocacy efforts that promote equitable and integrated access to oral care will increase awareness and demand from individuals as well as valuable shared learning opportunities between the organization and its partners, both in Vermont and wider New England. Grant funding will support project personnel, meeting expenses, and subgrants to key community-based organizational partners who provide ongoing community engagement and leadership opportunities to individuals. If awarded, this grant would make up approximately 33% of the organization's overall budget.