Health equity proponents today hailed the introduction of legislation in the U.S. House designed to improve dental care for foster youth, an historically underrepresented and marginalized population. The Foster Youth Dental Act was introduced today by Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California.
The legislation includes provisions that would provide access for foster youth to proper oral health care. Research has long demonstrated that foster youth are much less likely than their peers to receive proper dental care. One of the bill’s specific measures is to provide support and key incentives to ensure that a greater number of providers can serve the foster care population.
Oral hygiene and dental care often fall through the cracks for foster youth, exacerbating their already fragile status as underrepresented and marginalized. Today’s bill introduction is one more step in the right direction to address this health inequity and further support foster youth in the months and years to come.
The bill can be accessed here.
