MLP Network Resource Library

The National Center evaluates the health impacts of public policies outside of the traditional health domain, such as utility access and housing subsidies for medically ill low-income people. CHIAs offer an objective, evidence- and experience- based method through which to evaluate the implications of policy, regulations, and legislation for children's health and well-being.

In December 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics passed a resolution in support of medical-legal partnership, encouraging members to partner with legal services providers.

In August 2007, the American Bar Association passed a resolution in favor of medical-legal partnership, praising their holistic approach to health and advancement of preventive law.

There is currently strong language in the House healthcare reform bill for an MLP federal demonstration project. During this webinar, Ellen Lawton, executive director of the National Center and partners from the Podesta Group, provide an update on the status of the bill and outline strategies for Congressional outreach.

A second webinar will be offered specifically for MLP Capitol Hill Day participants.

Please note that there was a ten-minute audio glitch during this webinar that has been edited out. The attached PDF slides have the information that was skipped.

Joint MLP | Boston and C-SNAP report examines Boston’s hidden homeless population and proposes short- and long-term policy changes to help families heat and eat.

Bringing Children In From The Cold: Solutions for Boston’s Hidden Homeless. The Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program and The Medical-Legal Partnership for Children. Boston, MA: October 2008.

The MLPs in northern California organized a regional MLP policy initiative to investigate the housing code inspection practices in the San Francisco Bay Area. Medical students researched the link between inadequate housing and poor health and medical partners documented the health connection. A policy brief was written and disseminated in September 2009 with policy recommendations to improve access to healthy housing.

The report takes a close look at code enforcement policies and practices for dealing with moisture intrusion, ventilation, pest control and other housing issues that are particularly relevant to people with asthma.

The report was put together by the Medical-Legal Bay Area Regional Coalition.

The NY State Coalition of Medical-Legal Partnerships is working on legislation to amend the NY state public health law to include medical-legal partnership.  Attached is the draft legislation.  This is proposed language; it has not yet been introduced.

The National Center evaluates the health impacts of public policies outside of the traditional health domain, such as utility access and housing subsidies for medically ill low-income people.  CHIAs offer an objective, evidence- and experience- based method through which to evaluate the implications of policy, regulations, and legislation for children's health and well-being.

Doctors are in a position to provide valuable testimony to state and national legislatures while lawyers often understand the best audience to hear their message.  As a result, medical-legal partnerships are in a unique place to organize legislative advocacy efforts.   In this article, former Boston Medical Center Chief Pediatric Resident Marie Clark shares her experience of testifying before the Massachusetts State Legislature.

In November 2007, the Kentucky Bar Association passed a resolution in support of a medical-legal partnership for Kentucky's children.

THEREFORE, NOW BE IT RESOLVED,

That, the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association encourages lawyers, law firms, legal services agencies, law schools and local bar associations to promote and provide broader access to legal services for these children and their families by willingly volunteering their services pro bono and financially supporting pro bono programs as a means for our profession to contribute to the advancement and betterment of our Commonwealth. Dated this 16th day of November, 2007.

ABSTRACT:

Medical professionals are becoming more deeply aware that a child’s environment as much as, or even more than, biological and genetic factors can affect her health. One such environmental determinant of health is the condition of the housing where a child lives. All states and most localities have laws governing the conditions of residential property. Lawyers, by advocating proper enforcement of these laws, ensure that housing is safe and sanitary—and thus help children grow up healthy.

CITATION:
Lawyers and Doctors Partner for Healthy Housing.  Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy.  2005; 3.  M Cherayil, D Oliveira, M Sandel & E Tohn.

In July 2010, the Medical-Legal Partnership for Health Act was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.  Two identical bills were introduced calling for a federal demonstration project for MLP.

In this webinar, Ellen Lawton, NCMLP's Executive Director, and Kevin Kappel, Manager of Government Strategies for ML Strategies, share next steps for the bill and MLP Network outreach.

This webinar examines the language currently in the House healthcare reform bill for a medical-legal partnership federal demonstration project. It is specifically designed for Ohio partnerships.
Presenter: Ellen Lawton, Esq., Executive Director, National Center for MLP

The Systemic Advocacy Working Group compiled this grid of medical-legal partnership systemic innovations from sites nationwide as a resource for the MLP Network.

On March 24, 2010, MLP Teams from eighteen states met with over seventy members of Congress and their staffs to talk about the positive impact medical-legal partnerships have on vulnerable individuals and families.

This webinar provides participants with tips for preparing client stories, answers questions about LSC sites’ participation in meetings on the Hill, and offers talking points and strategies for meetings.
Presenters:
Nicole Young, Principal, Podesta Group
Julie Strandlie, Legislative Counsel, American Bar Association
Ellen Lawton, Executive Director, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership

Doctors and lawyers team up to address housing problems for patients on individual and systemic levels.

CITATION:
Rx for Tenants.  Shelterforce.  Fall 2006:28.   D Holtzman.

The MLP team at the Cleveland Community Advocacy Program in Cleveland, OH worked with the Cleveland City Council to pass a resolution in support of U Visas on March 22, 2010.

Boston Medical Center (BMC) health care providers and MLP | Boston’s legal team took a three-prong appoach to address the problem of utility access for low-income patients at BMC. They began by training front-line healthcare staff and providing direct legal assistance to low-income families, and then created institutional solutions that led to systemic impact across the state.

This report highlights the impact medical-legal partnership can have on systems change and underscores the need for active medical-legal partnerships to expand upon their dynamic service delivery model for a broader impact on policy.

CITATION:
Utility Access and Health: A Medical-Legal Partnership Patients-to-Policy Case Study. National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership and Medical-Legal Partnership | Boston. Boston: June 2010.