G-2106-17060

The Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice (OFHESJ) is a nonprofit collaborative principally made up of agencies, organizations and individuals concerned about minority and multicultural health, health equity, social justice and the elimination of health disparities for racial/ethnic populations in Ohio.

OFHESJ’s strength is in its ability to work across multiple sectors using unified approaches that encompass, but are not limited to, community mobilization and civic engagement, capacity building, and development of infrastructure. This request is responsive to a 62% increase in the number of children who are cared for by a relative following intervention by Children’s Services over the past decade, which has resulted in fragmented care for minors and many lost opportunities for health and life improvement. These housing reassignments are categorized by their familial nature and those providing youth with a new home are referred to as kinship care providers. For the proposed work, the organization will provide oversight and administration to three proposed project partners – Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition (NEOBHC), Southeastern Ohio Legal Services (SEOLS), and the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition (OGKC) – in their effort to identify, engage, and mobilize kinship care families in Ohio.

OFHESJ appropriately submitted this proposal under the Sub-Program: Strength Community Voice and State Advocacy (Advancing Equity through Oral Health). This proposal considers research studies published in recent years around oral health screenings among Ohioan school children and reported oral health disparities impacting low-income communities and people of color. Nonetheless, this project will more likely serve as a foundational building block for policy development that addresses this resident population (kinship care families). Much of this increase has been attributed to the Opiate Crisis that has plagued Ohio and the need to address the lack of available resources for these youth has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. OFHESJ has proposed a data collection project based on surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, and interviews, that would be carried out over the next year, engage 400 of these kinship care families, and culminate in a report to be shared across its network of member organizations and beyond.

OFHESJ’s operating budget is reported to be $250,000 and this request is for $138,000 (55% of the organization’s budget). Of the requested funds, $95,000 (69%) will be applied toward the salaries of key project leaders and support staff from all four participating organizations (OFHESJ, NEOBHC, SEOLS, and OGKC) with the remaining $43,000 (31%) being applied to marketing and data collection materials, travel expenses, and participant stipends.