Before identifying suitable partners for collaboration, an organization must define and prioritize the goals of creating the program, followed by identifying areas where assistance is needed. Define the expertise and the level of engagement required of potential partners.

When seeking partners, get to know your potential partners by reviewing publications and reports to learn about their mission, values, priorities, strengths, and capacity. Exploring existing partnerships and engaging in preliminary discussions is a good starting point. It’s also important to ascertain the limitations and needs of potential partners and to acknowledge these during discussions.

All potential partners should assess the risks and benefits that may arise from the collaboration. Partners intending to collaborate then engage in discussions to mutually determine a shared purpose and concur on the value of collaborating.

Involvement of partners among organizations and agencies varies over a spectrum of integration. The level of integration should be determined at the level of the desired task. Specific program tasks may require limited integration where partners cooperate to share resources and information.  Whereas tasks involving services, activities, and co-sponsorships, such as care coordination or case management, require greater integration and coordination among partners for mutually beneficial outcomes.

Collaborating partners work together to strategize the action plan based on SMART+C objectives (i.e., specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timed, and challenging). The partnership is formalized through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or contracts. The partners agree upon a timeline, roles, and responsibilities of all involved, a communication strategy, resources needed, and an evaluation plan. Successful collaborations are built on trust and respect and, more essentially, understanding limitations and preparing for conflicts. The planning discussions should include identifying a strategy to mitigate and resolve conflicts. 

A strong partnership with schools is critical to developing a school-linked dental program. LOHPs can partner with schools, school boards, school districts, and county offices of education (COEs) to improve access to oral health care through school oral health programs, integration of oral health education into school curriculum, and oral health literacy among school staff. Champions at schools who can promote school oral health programs include school superintendents, parent liaisons such as parent teacher organizations, school teachers, and school nurses. LOHPs can also work with existing school-based health centers to implement oral health programs or further enhance existing programs.

Dental providers, pediatricians, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), other community clinics, school nurses

LOHPs can collaborate with health care professionals in several ways. Local dental providers, including FQHC dental providers, can participate in the referral pathway for children to access dental care by serving as dental homes. Local dental providers can be engaged to provide a range of school-linked/-based oral health services including screenings, fluoride application, sealants, and other preventive care. LOHPs can also enhance medical-dental integration by collaborating with medical providers to implement oral health literacy campaigns for parents and caregivers.

School nurses serve as a valuable resource to identify, educate, and coordinate oral health activites. They could also be trained to conduct oral health screenings (but not KOHA), identify disease and injury, provide oral health education and dietary counseling, and coordinate care.

LOHPs can also partner with community-based organizations whose scope of work aligns with the goals and objectives of LOHPs. They can identify organizations/agencies already offering services geared towards improving children's oral health through screenings, education, or other activities.

Community dental centers or FQHCs can be partnered with to establish school-linked/-based dental programs and/or to serve as safety net dental clinics for underserved populations.

Several organizations in the community often serve the same populations in improving health outcomes. Collaborating and coordinating services between such organizations can maximize the usage of available resources.

Partnering with other departments within the public health agency can provide access to resources that can be utilized to improve oral health and raise awareness. Departments such as Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health (MCAH); Nutrition, Education, and Obesity (NEOP); Tobacco Cessation; and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) can be engaged to increase oral health literacy and maximize the usage of resources.

Partnering with early childhood programs such as Head Start and First 5 can provide an opportunity for early intervention to improve the oral health of children and parents enrolled in the program through oral health education, campaigns, and programs. More resources for
implementing toothbrushing programs and partnership examples can be found on the COHTAC website.

Local dental societies, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) local chapter, school nurse associations, dental schools, dental hygiene schools

LOHPs can partner with local professional societies to identify ways to develop the workforce and increase providers accepting Medi-Cal Dental. Partnering with your local AAP chapter can facilitate promoting oral health into routine medical visits.

Professional organizations like the California School Nurses Organization can be partnered with to promote oral health among students and their families. Partnering with dental schools or dental hygiene schools can help build school oral health services infrastructure and oral health education.

Building relationships with these societies and schools can also facilitate volunteer opportunities and referral pathways.

• As an initial step, identify the objective of the evaluation process and formulate a statement predicting what is the intended result (create a hypothesis).
• Create an action plan by identifying the who, where, when and how long, what, and how the evaluation process is to occur.
• List the resources, including staff, that would be necessary to carry out the evaluation process.
• Create a data collection plan by identifying what data is to be collected and how it will be collected.
• Tips for the PDSA model:
  • Identify a single aspect of the program to evaluate.
  • PDSA cycle usually lasts a short duration.
  • Involve a small sample of the program participants.

The next step is to execute the plan and capture the observations.

• Identify if the action plan was executed as initially planned.
• Document observations on how the process was carried out.
• Document any problems and unexpected effects.
• Collect data you identified as needed during the Step 1. Plan stage.

This step analyzes the observations and data gathered to see if the predictions were met.

• Review and analyze the data.
• Summarize the results and look for unintended consequences, surprises, successes, and failures.
• Assess if the initial prediction (hypothesis) was met.
• Identify the areas that can be improved.

• Identify the next steps based on whether the findings were favorable.
• Adapt, adopt, or abandon based on the finding
  • Adapt: If the plan was mostly successful, but the data suggests that the improvement could be further improved, then repeat the PDSA cycle and modify the intervention(s).
  • Adopt: If the plan resulted in success, begin to use it regularly. After some time, return to Step 1. Plan and re-examine the process to learn where it can be further improved.
  • Abandon: If a different approach would be more successful, return to Step 1. Plan, and develop a new and different plan that might result in success.