For Advocates: Florida’s MLP Network
Are you currently involved with MLP activities in Florida? Are you a lawyer, healthcare provider, or administrator interested in starting your own MLP in Florida?
Join the Florida Medical-Legal Partnership Network. Contact CLS Manager of Public Interest and Medical-Legal Partnerships, Christina Russo Walters for more information.
Download the Florida Medical-Legal Partnership Guiding Principles document from the top right corner of this page.
Beginnings and accomplishments.
It all began when CLS teamed up with Florida Legal Services, Legal Services of North Florida, and the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. This was able to happen because of initial funding from The Florida Bar Foundation.
Together, we worked to create a curriculum for the 2017-2018 Florida MLP Learning Collaborative — an opportunity for us to share information and resources with the project’s participants, helping others to start their own Medical-Legal Partnerships.
A 2019 survey of Florida MLP providers conducted by CLS showed that four new MLPs were developed as a result of the Learning Collaborative.
In 2018, CLS worked with MLP medical champions from across the state to create and introduce the Guiding Principles for Medical-Legal Partnerships in Florida, a “roadmap” to sustainable MLPs in the state. The Guiding Principles have been adopted by the Florida Civil Legal Aid Association — the executive directors and CEOs from civil legal service across Florida.
Current work.
Continued funding by CLS enables the Florida Medical-Legal Network to improve the health of individuals and their communities. The network actively leads health, public health, and legal sectors in a coordinated effort to combat the legal obstacles that can result in poor health.
CLS is still helping to build and further integrate sustainable Medical-Legal Partnerships in Florida by providing technical assistance and hosting community calls.
CLS uses the Medical-Legal Partnership practice area of the FLadvocate website — a site designed as a resource for civil legal aid lawyers in Florida — to deliver all information about the Florida MLP Network to MLP-interested lawyers, healthcare providers, administrators, and funders.
The site hosts a library, resources, and a listserv so you can keep up-to-date on MLP happenings across the state.
MLP Practice area of FL Advocate: https://www.fladvocate.org/medical-legal/
National Center for Medical Legal Partnership: https://medical-legalpartnership.org/
Download the Florida Medical-Legal Partnership Guiding Principles document from the top right corner of this page.