Policy Development

The Dental Therapist Project (DTP) will improve the oral health of underserved children and families by transforming the dental workforce and establishing dental therapist providers as standard members of the dental health team in the United States. Dental therapists receive two years of intensive training to provide preventive oral health care and commonly needed services such as fillings and uncomplicated extractions. They work under the general supervision of an offsite dentist who pre-approves the procedures they perform and reviews their work via phone, fax, and the Internet.

The Center helps college and community leaders develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to reduce student problems related to alcohol and other drug use and interpersonal violence. In order to produce enduring, large-scale changes that will make students’ social and cultural environment healthier and safer, the Center supports a comprehensive approach to prevention, grounded in environmental management strategies that address the institutional, community, and public policy factors related to these problems.

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) enhances the nation’s mental health infrastructure by providing states, government agencies, private organizations, colleges and universities, and suicide survivor and mental health consumer groups with access to the science and experience that can support their efforts to develop programs, implement interventions, and promote policies to prevent suicide.

dot-EDU was an information and communication technology (ICT) intervention mechanism for USAID Missions seeking to improve education systems in their respective countries. dot-EDU sought to assist developing countries in strengthening learning systems that improve quality, expand access, and enhance equity through carefully planned applications of digital and broadcast technologies. The dot-EDU mission had two foci. First, dot-EDU provided training and technical assistance to support USAID Missions in developing and implementing technology-assisted applications.

This program supports a comprehensive statewide initiative to strengthen college alcohol and other drug prevention efforts in Pennsylvania. The project provides training and technical assistance to campus and community coalitions at Pennsylvania public and private colleges, with the goals of limiting alcohol sales to minors, eliminating irresponsible marketing practices by alcohol sellers, and increasing enforcement of campus policy and community laws.

CCHS will provide consultation and training to build the capacity of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus and community to implement effective early intervention strategies to reduce high-risk alcohol use by students. The purpose of project activities is to build a widening “net”—to design and implement a campus wide infrastructure, linked with community services—to increase the opportunities to identify, screen, and refer students in need of an intervention.