Congratulations to Our Very Own Tracy Goodman!

When you look at the trajectory of a child’s life, there is no more important effort than to help them get the basic health care that they need and an appropriate education. This has been Tracy’s life work.*

This week, the Washington Council of Lawyers announced its 2017 award honorees. We’re proud to share that Tracy Goodman, Children’s Law Center Director of Healthy Together, won the 2017  prestigious Legal Services Award!

Tracy’s Tenacious Work for DC Children

In 2002, Tracy began her work at Children’s Law Center (CLC) as the first—and for a while, only—attorney working in the Healthy Together program. The program removes non-medical barriers—ones like poor housing conditions and lack of appropriate special education measures—to children’s health and wellbeing. CLC attorneys work in clinics and hospitals across DC, expanding medical care for low income families to include legal representation.

Fast forward to today. Tracy is now the director of the program and led its expansion to partnerships with three prominent healthcare institutions in numerous clinics across the District. Through Tracy’s leadership, this medical-legal partnership has grown to a team of 13 attorneys and 3 investigators.

Celebrating Tracy

For more than 15 years Tracy has harnessed her passion, zeal and drive to continue building the program, mentoring attorneys and advocating for DC’s at-risk children.

Tracy implemented a huge variety of expansions and instilled new best practices at CLC. For example, Healthy Together’s reach has expanded to Wards 1, 5, 7 and 8, adding two clinics that work with predominantly immigrant families. Tracy also expanded our programs to encompass early childhood, focusing on infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Responding to a systemic problem our clinic attorneys noted, she prioritized improving housing conditions for children suffering from uncontrolled asthma—the most common chronic disease in kids—in the District. We rely on Tracy to be wherever and whenever clients need her most.
 
One of the goals of WCL’s Legal Services Award is to recognize lawyers who apply “outside-the box thinking about how to resolve difficult legal issues.” As the steward of a medical-legal partnership, Tracy has done just that, proving that unlikely partners can make powerful allies.*

We are thrilled to celebrate Tracy’s tremendous impact on the health and safety of our city’s children. Please join me in congratulating Tracy!

Judith

*Quotes from letters by medical partners in support of the award