Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) have existed for decades to address the social determinants of health. Less attention has been paid, however, to how they serve a preventative function. MLPs have the capacity to avoid unnecessary referrals to the child welfare system as well as reduce state Medicaid expenditures. This panel will discuss how MLPs operate, with a focus on two academically-based MLPs, one based out of the University of South Carolina and one that is starting in partnership with Loyola New Orleans, and how their models are being evaluated by the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School to determine the extent to which they reduce child welfare referrals and reduce Medicaid expenditures.
