ADVOCACY FOR A SUSTAINABLE DENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM AT JFK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

In an earlier blog, we summarized our plans for obtaining community support for UWCJ’s pre-k dental health program. Since that time, the “Jamesburg Action Group” has been renamed the “Jamesburg Early Childhood Advisory Council.” Fortunately, we’ve had strong community interest in the Council, and meetings are attended by parents, teachers, the early learning coordinator, the school principal, members of the town government, and town residents. Now, we are in the process of planning Council activities for the upcoming school year. One topic we’ll be discussing is community advocacy on behalf of our dental program at JFK Elementary School. Some of the items on the table next semester will be:

1. increasing parent engagement, perhaps through afterschool events that include dental awareness information
2. providing information for pregnant mothers on the importance of dental care during pregnancy
3. reminding new moms about good oral health care for infants
4. recruiting bilingual students from area colleges and technical and vocational schools to serve as “dental ambassadors” to distribute dental health information at community events
5. making dental health information available to family child care providers
6. working with the school nurse to insure that all pre-k students are getting dental care
7. establishing links with community health clinics and dental providers so that the children can get dental care on a routine basis
8. investigating the extent to which a lack of transportation is discouraging some parents from taking their children to the dentist, and how the Council can assist them
9. leveraging the dental health initiative to encourage regular use of medical and mental health professionals
10. providing information on government support programs such as WIC and SNAP, and programs that promote healthy eating
11. helping parents locate needed services, and then helping them learn to engage in self-advocacy to obtain those services
12. planning how the town can successfully lobby for government support for health initiatives such as a school-based health center
13. discussing whether “telehealth” services can be used to address gaps in dental care
14. learning from parents whether there are barriers to care that we haven’t considered, including existing barriers that may have been worsened by the covid 19 pandemic