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256B.53 DENTAL ACCESS GRANTS.
(a) The commissioner shall award grants to community clinics or other nonprofit community
organizations, political subdivisions, professional associations, or other organizations that
demonstrate the ability to provide dental services effectively to public program recipients. Grants
may be used to fund the costs related to coordinating access for recipients, developing and
implementing patient care criteria, upgrading or establishing new facilities, acquiring furnishings
or equipment, recruiting new providers, or other development costs that will improve access
to dental care in a region.
(b) In awarding grants, the commissioner shall give priority to applicants that plan to serve
areas of the state in which the number of dental providers is not currently sufficient to meet the
needs of recipients of public programs or uninsured individuals. The commissioner shall consider
the following in awarding the grants:
(1) potential to successfully increase access to an underserved population;
(2) the long-term viability of the project to improve access beyond the period of initial
funding;
(3) the efficiency in the use of the funding; and
(4) the experience of the applicants in providing services to the target population.
(c) The commissioner shall consider grants for the following:
(1) implementation of new programs or continued expansion of current access programs that
have demonstrated success in providing dental services in underserved areas;
(2) a program for mobile or other types of outreach dental clinics in underserved geographic
areas;
(3) a program for school-based dental clinics in schools with high numbers of children
receiving medical assistance;
(4) a program testing new models of care that are sensitive to the cultural needs of the
recipients;
(5) a program creating new educational campaigns that inform individuals of the importance
of good oral health and the link between dental disease and overall health status;
(6) a program that organizes a network of volunteer dentists to provide dental services to
public program recipients or uninsured individuals; and
(7) a program that tests new delivery models by creating partnerships between local
providers and county public health agencies.
(d) The commissioner shall evaluate the effects of the dental access initiatives funded
through the dental access grants and submit a report to the legislature by January 15, 2003.
History: 1Sp2001 c 9 art 2 s 47; 2002 c 379 art 1 s 113

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes