National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, Department of Health Policy & Management, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University

Bridging Connections Between Health Care and Legal Services to Improve Veterans’ Lives

Many post-9/11 veterans experience an array of complex needs at the intersection of health and poverty. MLPs address complex social factors that affect veterans’ housing, health, and well-being that cannot be properly remedied without the assistance of an attorney. Some VA Medical Centers have established Medical-Legal partnerships (MLP) to address the social determinants of health negatively impacting veterans, but 39 states are still without a VHA facilities with an MLP. Fortunately, there is growing support to strengthen the ability for third party legal service agencies to provide this evidence-based legal support within VA medical facilities. This BWF grant will allow the NCMLP to strengthen the integration of legal services into veteran health care settings by providing implementation guidance for VA MLP and developing a performance measurement guide to track VA MLP processes and outcomes, foster cross program learning, and contribute to the growth and standardization of VA MLP services.