The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership Launches the 2026 National Medical-Legal Partnership Survey

Help build a clearer understanding of how medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) currently operate, the people and resources behind them, and the experiences of programs across the country. Take the investigator-led study at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, developed in collaboration with the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. 

The survey at-a-glance:  

• Opens:  Survey opens September 28, 2026 · 

• Closes: Scheduled to close December 18, 2026 

• Time: Plan for about one hour to complete the required core questions. Optional modules take additional time. 

• Scope: Each response describes one partnership and answer from one organization's perspective. 

• Flexibility: You can save your progress and return any time before you submit. 

• Incentive: Eligible respondents who complete the core survey will receive a $20 gift card while funds remain, limited to one gift card per organization for each MLP.

2026 MLP Survey: What You Need to Know

• Why participate?

  • Understand the field : Aggregate findings can provide reference points for how participating MLPs organize and support their work. 

  • Explain resource needs : Findings may inform conversations with partners and funders about staffing, coordination, and infrastructure. 

  • Find relevant peers : With your separate permission, a limited organizational profile may support NCMLP’s directory, mapping, and connections across the field. 

  • Learn about implementation : Explore approaches to referrals, legal services, and behavioral health across different program arrangements. 

• Who should respond?

  A person or team who knows the MLP well and is authorized to describe a partner organization’s work. Healthcare, community, and legal partners may each provide their own perspective. The survey also includes a pathway for coordinating organizations. 

  You can participate without attending the webinar. The survey’s opening questions guide you to the appropriate pathway. 

• Before you begin

  • Choose the partnership. Identify which partners and locations belong in this response. 

  • Choose your organizational perspective. Coordinate with colleagues preparing the same response. 

  • Gather core information. Partner names, settings, referral processes, staffing arrangements, and funding sources. 

  • Ask colleagues for help where needed. Specify the partnership and time period. Optional modules ask for more detail on staff time, budgets, referrals, and cases. 

• How will survey responses be used and protected?

  Responses are confidential, but not anonymous: the survey collects MLP and partner names. Authorized Johns Hopkins and NCMLP study personnel may access responses for the approved research and survey administration. Public findings will summarize results across programs unless additional permission is provided. 

  You separately choose whether NCMLP may contact you or use a limited identifiable organizational profile. That profile excludes detailed survey answers. Please do not enter patient or client identifiers. 

• Participation Incentive

  Eligible respondents who complete the core survey will receive a $20 gift card while funds remain, limited to one gift card per organization for each MLP.

  Optional questions are not required for gift card eligibility. See the survey for full eligibility and incentive details.

Take the 2026 National MLP Survey

Use the link below to begin your 2026 National Medical-Legal Partnership Survey response. You can save your progress and return to your response at any time before submitting.

Need to review questions before you participate? Survey question previews and an Instructions and Reference Guide are available as downloadable PDFs on the REDCap study information and consent page. You can review these materials and consult colleagues before deciding whether to participate. You do not need to agree to participate to access the PDFs.

Got more questions?

Watch the 2026 National MLP Survey launch webinar to learn how to prepare, what information you may want to gather from colleagues, and how to participate in the survey.

Questions about your partnership or the survey? Contact Michelle Bedoya at mbedoya2@jh.edu.