East of the River: Children’s Law Center’s Medical-Legal Partnership: A Holistic Approach to Child Welfare in the District
Every Pro Bono Week, we lead a tour of one of our medical-legal partner sites. It’s a great way to share about the amazing work our pro bono attorneys do and to provide an insider’s look to where it all starts! This year, East of the River’s Jessalyn Schwartz joined the tour.
Through the Healthy Together program, CLC has now placed attorneys in seven health clinics across DC to identify legal barriers to treatment—ones like poor housing conditions that cause asthma—and help bridge the gaps that exist for youth and families. Doctors are trained to perform screenings and ask questions about issues that may lead to legal intervention. On-site attorneys may have easier access to medical records, be able to obtain letters for reasonable accommodations, and advance their clients’ interests with the assistance of medical providers.