Needs Assessment

Screening and Referral Form developed by the Families' Legal and Medical Partnership in Milwaukee, WI.

Poster from Families' Legal and Medical Partnership in Milwaukee, WI: Establishing a Medical-Legal Partnership in Milwaukee: Determining Need and Receptiveness Among Parents and Healthcare Providers.

Case Status Form developed by the Families' Legal and Medical Partnership in Milwaukee, WI.

ABSTRACT:

This study examined the knowledge of and application for health-related welfare program provisions among beneficiaries with children who have chronic conditions. Welfare beneficiaries with children who have chronic conditions show limited knowledge and use of program provisions, placing them at risk for penalties or benefit termination.

ABSTRACT:

Urban children and families reported a significant burden of healthrelated social problems yet infrequent pediatric screening or referral for these problems. Of families who reported receiving referrals, a majority contacted the recommended agencies and found them helpful. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of using a computer-based questionnaire to identify health-related social problems in a routine outpatient clinic setting.

Study examines patients' attitudes toward providers screening for social needs and resident providers’ attitudes and behaviors toward addressing these needs.

CITATION:

Screening for Basic Social Needs at a Medical Home for Low-Income Children. Clinical Pediatrics. January 2009; 48(1): 32-36. Arvin Garg, MD, MPH, et. al.

This survey is designed to assess patient-families’ legal needs. It was developed by and is currently being piloted by the Washington Medical-Legal Partnership for Children at Seattle Children’s Hospital. This survey is also available in English in the resource library.

A series of questions developed by the Cincinnati Health Law Partnership that providers can ask patients to determine social factors affecting their health and to screen for medical-legal partnership services.

A Spanish language questionnaire developed as a screening tool to identify families who might benefit from the services of a medical-legal partnership. This questionnaire can also be used in formative evaluation, providing a means for quickly assessing the legal needs present in a particular setting (community or medical clinic) in which the creation of a new medical-legal partnership is planned.

It was written and validated by David Keller and Nathan Jones of the Family Advocates of Central Massachusetts (FACM). Please acknowledge the authors if you choose to use this instrument.

In April 2008, the National Center and MLP | Boston with Cornell University conducted a qualitative study to measure the impact of MLP on patient-families. 72 interviews were conducted with patient-families (36 had access to medical-legal partnership services, 36 did not). The study found that MLP patient-families:

• Were more likely to acknowledge they had a problem when speaking with their doctors
• Were better, more skilled advocates
• Employed more effective strategies to solve legal problems then they would have otherwise
• Felt supported while receiving legal assistance
• Saw improvements in their families' well-being
• Were able to assist other families with the knowledge they gained