King County (KC) Kids Oral Health Program

This oral health program provided free dental services to children living in poverty. First, the program identified 1,000 children in King County that lived between 250% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. In order to reach these children, outreach strategies focused on schools, libraries, community centers, media outlets, and local businesses. A website was also created so that families could learn about the program and determine their eligibility.

After children were enrolled, staff sent out a monthly letter to enrollees to encourage them to make dentist appointments and remind families that KC Kids was a time-limited program. KC Kids staff also worked to develop a plan that would help enrollees of the program transition to state-funded programs as of January 1, 2009.

The goal of the KC Kids Oral Health Program was to provide no-cost dental services to children who lived between 250% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level.

By the end of the first year, KC Kids had enrolled 808 of the estimated 1,000 children in King County that fall within 250% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, and 83% of these children had accessed a dental provider. Nearly 750 King County dentists participated in the program and provided 911 preventative and 521 restorative services to enrolled children in 2008.