Medical-Legal Partnerships

Partnerships between community health centers, civil legal services, and community-based domestic violence programs are essential to address the health, legal, and safety needs of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), human trafficking (HT) and exploitation. Formalizing medical legal partnerships (MLPs) is a crucial step to help connect people at risk of or affected by IPV, HT and exploitation with important legal services, including but not limited to; criminal justice legal aid, immigration legal services, family law and employment services. Medical-legal partnerships integrate the unique expertise of lawyers into health care settings to help clinicians, case managers, and social workers address structural problems at the root of so many health inequities. These collaborations can help build stronger bond in communities to safely connect patients to medical, legal, and social services, to potentially reduce harm and create a symbiotic network of support mechanisms. Similarly, these partnerships can help increase health access for clients receiving community-based legal or domestic violence support, as well as for their staff. Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation provides training and adaptable resources to grow and solidify the partnerships between community health centers, legal service providers and community-based domestic violence programs.

See below for related webinars, learning collaboratives, and resources: 

Related Resources

Past Webinars Icon

Intimate Partner Violence and Human Trafficking: Collaboration between Medical Legal Partnerships, FQHCs, and Domestic Violence Programs

Past Webinar… More Info >

Past Webinars Icon

Collaborating to Address the Health and Legal Needs of Patients Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence and Exploitation

Past Webinar…More Info >

IPVHealthPartners home page

IPVHealthPartners Online Toolkit

Online toolkit for building health center and domestic violence program partnerships
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A Guide: Increasing Capacity to Address Health, Justice, & Equity Through Partnerships

Through partnerships, health centers, domestic violence (DV) programs or agencies, and civil legal aid organizations can more effectively leverage their respective skill sets to… More Info >

Related Learning Opportunities