Medical-Legal Alliance for Children


Mission:
The Medical Legal Alliance for Children (MLAC) promotes children’s health through preventive legal advocacy on behalf of children’s welfare. We address the non-biological health needs of children by applying legal tools to issues related to family stability, safe housing, adequate benefits for caretakers, disability services, access to health care, freedom from abuse, and appropriate educational services.


The Medical-Legal Alliance for Children is a multidisciplinary coalition between the UNM School of law Clinical Law Programs and the University of New Mexico’s Pediatric Clinics and Children’s Hospital. The Medical-Legal Alliance for Children collaborates with other community organizations to promote children’s welfare.


Goals and Objectives:

  • Provide legal services to caregivers that benefit children’s health and well-being.
  • Develop educational opportunities relating to law and social justice for medical professionals, lawyers, law students, and other professionals who advance children’s development and welfare.
  • Advance policy initiatives and engage in systemic advocacy to address non-biological health needs (social determinants of health) that have a medical-legal component. Some policy areas identified by pediatric partners include the following: minor’s consent for health care, availability of kinship/guardianships, special education advocacy, and support for breast feeding mothers.
  • Expand/develop community outreach/ networks.
  • Establish a network of pro-bono attorneys/ or staff attorneys available for Medical Legal cases.


Activities of the Medical-Legal Alliance for Children:
Patient Referrals: Potential clients come to us through direct referral from pediatric inpatient/outpatient health care providers. Pediatric residents are key in providing referrals that can benefit children and their caregivers.

  • “Walk-in” legal clinics are held every Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00-3:00 PM at the UNM Pediatrics Department, during the regular summer, fall and spring semesters.
  • We also receive referrals from the FOCUS program and from PB& J Family Services.


Education: The Medical-Legal Alliance for Children promotes the medical-legal training and education of legal and health care professionals.

  • Law clinic students shadow residents and attendings seeing patients in the urgent care and well child setting, including the FOCUS clinic.
  • 4th year medical students can choose to rotate with MLAC for their Ambulatory Care rotation. Medical students attend client intakes and meetings, court proceeding, small group discussions of legal cases, and law seminars such as bioethics. Pediatric residents may also choose to spent time with MLAC.
  • Law faculty and students give presentations to medical faculty and residents on a variety of legal topics, such as parental rights and consent to health care; and discussions of case examples encountered in law clinic practice.
  • Medical faculty give presentations to law students on health care policy and other topics such as adverse childhood events.

 

Contact:
Victoria Elenes is the contact person for the Medical-Legal Alliance for Children. Telephone: (505) 277-0903; fax: (505) 277-2371; e-mail: elenes@law.unm.edu.