Four pediatric dental programs receive 6/10 settlement funds to provide care for Providence kids

Four Rhode Island nonprofits will share a total of $7.9 million in grants to improve access to dental care for Providence children, Attorney General Peter Neronha and the Rhode Island Foundation announced Tuesday morning.

The money represents most of an $11 million civil settlement Neronha brokered with Barletta Heavy Division Inc. to resolve accusations that the Canton, Massachusetts, company dumped contaminated material while reconstructing the Route 6/10 Interchange in the summer of 2020. The settlement was announced in May 2025, avoiding a criminal trial that would have started a month later.

The funds will reduce socioeconomic and racial disparities by making oral health care more affordable and accessible for children living in the Olneyville, Silver Lake and West End neighborhoods, Rhode Island Foundation President and CEO David Cicilline told about two dozen advocates, dental professionals and others at a celebration at the Providence Community Health Center on Prairie Avenue. The highway interchange construction project occurred near these three neighborhoods. 

“Focusing these resources on neighborhoods where health disparities are high will help close gaps and access to care to deliver lifelong benefits to the children and their families,” said Cicilline. 

One in three kindergartners and almost half of third graders in Rhode Island have tooth decay, according to data from the Rhode Island Department of Health. 

The funds will be distributed over three years. 

The Providence Community Health Center is receiving the largest chunk, $2.7 million. The money will cover care for over 3,000 patients a year, Merrill Thomas, its president and CEO, said. The center will partner with Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) dental program and Children’s Friend to establish referral programs while CCRI will also provide preventive care and dental education.

The Tri-County Community Action Agency is receiving $2.5 million to identify children with untreated dental needs to provide care at schools and its Pediatric Dental Center in North Providence. The agency operates the state’s only advanced pediatric dental education program, which provides specialized treatment for children with severe dental decay and full-mouth oral rehabilitation under general anesthesia at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.

“In this area, there’s a definite need, there always has been, and this location has always fulfilled that need,” oral surgeon Dr. Aaron Ercole, who treats patients at Fatima, said. 

The Samuels Sinclair Dental Center at Rhode Island Hospital is getting $2 million to add a dentist and dental assistants. The center will work closely with Hasbro’s Children Hospital and continue providing specialized treatment under anesthesia for children with behavioral needs, director Dr. Elizabeth Benz said.

“At the heart of this work is a simple belief: Every child deserves to grow, learn and thrive without pain of untreated dental disease,” Bentz said. 

The Comprehensive Community Action Program is receiving $725,000 to continue its community outreach efforts, including a mobile pediatric dental service. It will also expand its school-based programs, a bilingual provider and establish a bilingual media campaign, according to the press release.

Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Neronha defended himself after criticism last June from Republican state lawmakers who accused him of overstepping his role in deciding where the settlement money should go.

“There are a very small few in the General Assembly who think they can tie the attorney general to say anything as to how I can settle a case,” Neronha said. “The attorney general as an independent constitutional officer needs to have the power to settle cases the way he or she believes is appropriate so we can best protect Rhode Islanders.” 

The grants are distributed via the Rhode Island Foundation’s Rhode Island Attorney General’s 6/10 Children’s Fund. Around $2.1 million from the settlement remains unspent. Chris Barnett, spokesperson for the Rhode Island foundation, said discussions remain ongoing about what to do with that remaining balance.

Neronha told Rhode Island Current his understanding is that the remaining settlement funds could be used for grant recipients who want to extend their own programs or as a seed to keep the program going beyond three years.

“If more money flows into that fund whether it be from outside charitable giving or additional settlements that the office may recover, things can always be expanded and replenished,” Neronha said.

Tara Pratt, vice president of development and director of dental and mobil health programs for Comprehensive Community Action Program speaks during a press conference Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at the Providence Community Health Center.

Reporter Christopher Shea contributed to this story.