Chicago Family Advocacy Program: A Medical Legal Partnership for Children

1. Chicago Family Advocacy Program: A Medical Legal Partnership for Children MIE 2006 National Fundraising Conference Chicago, Illinois Friday, July 14, 2006 Julie Justicz Health & Disability Advocates jjusticz@hdadvocates.org 708/567-9471; 312/223-9600

2. Why Develop a Medical-Legal Collaboration? • Provides convenient point of entry for families – one-stop shopping • Addresses the compounding factors of medical risk and socio-economic disadvantage • Employs a proactive model – intervention before crisis • Establishes a best practice model for providers; doctors, lawyers, social workers learn from each other and patients benefit • Helps families access broad range of social support services and developmental therapies

3. Health & Disability Advocates “Project Access” 2000-2004 • Pilot Project – A Medical, Legal, Case Management Collaboration • Very low birth weight infants or medically high-risk infants from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at two hospital sites (U of C Hospital and Mt. Sinai) • Followed for one-year post-discharge in clinic setting • Families of infants met regularly (2-4 weeks) with lawyer and case manager • Received range of legal help • Neonatal Infant Outcome Study (NIOS): Randomized-controlled study of project services

4. What We Know • Social factors exert a profound influence on the health of children -- housing impact, social stressors, etc. • Early childhood is a “critical” period for brain development • Effectiveness of early childhood intervention programs persists into school years – difficulties with access to key programs

5. What Medical Providers Tell Us • Complex, unfamiliar social service systems make advocacy difficult, inefficient, and ineffective • Social issues seem untreatable • Medical treatments become irrelevant

6. What We Face • Awareness of the importance of social factors • Recognition that access to health care and social services is paramount to good health • Realism that resources to overcome social barriers are often beyond our reach

7. NEW PROGRAMChicago Family Advocacy Program • Medical and legal collaboration to assist families of infants and children with special health care needs; builds on successes of Project Access; expands patient base and range of services • Start Date: May 2006 at U of C • Partners: • Health & Disability Advocates • Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago • University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital/Center for Health Families Clinic • Mt. Sinai • Sinai Urban Health Institute • McDermott Will & Emery

8. CFAP: Legal Help for Families • Lawyers meet families during medical clinic hours, assess cases, provide brief advice, referrals, counseling, or legal representation • Lawyers take referrals from hospital social workers, medical providers and provide assistance to families • Lawyers provide training, back-up and support to social workers and medical providers • Lawyers conduct individual representation and administrative advocacy on range of civil issues

9. CFAP: Pro Bono Opportunities • Provide on-site legal assistance at Center for Healthy Families – (approximately 2 hours at Wednesday clinic). Meet families, conduct interview, provide advice, referral, or possibly take legal case. • Accept CFAP “pre-packaged” case without going to clinic • Assist with trainings/material preparations in various areas of law • Conduct discrete research issue for CFAP attorneys

10. Fundraising/Financing Ideas • Collaboration opens doors to new set of funders: child health funders; hospital conversion funds; bar foundations; national funders; • One foundation connects you with others; • Support from hospitals; clinics, medical schools, social work schools; • Public support: targeted case management; Medicaid reimbursement • Pro Bono Support

11. The Medical-Legal Partnership • Valuable means for effective advocacy • Addresses significance of social factors • Places solutions to social barriers within reach • Increases the return on our initial investment • Improves overall health of highest risk infants