University of Virginia Health System

IN THE NEWS:  1st Annual VA MEDICAL-LEGAL PARTNERSHIP CONFERENCE TO BE HELD SEPTEMBER 26, 2008!  

The 1st statewide medical-legal partnership will take place on Friday September 26, 2008 in Charlottesville.  Ellen Lawton, Executive Director of the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children National Center in Boston will join us for a full day to facilitate the continued development and implementation of medical-legal partnerships throughout VA!  Everyone interested in learning more about medical-legal partnerships in Virginia should attend!  Further details will be available soon.    Contact Dr. Diane Pappas at childadvocacy@virginia.edu for more information.  

The Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP)  at the University of Virginia is a unique medical-legal collaboration between the University of Virginia Children's Hospital, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the Legal Aid Justice Center designed to improve the health and welfare of families with children who receive their health care at the University of Virginia.  The program has received an award of $125,000 from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund which allows the program to staff a full-time program attorney who works on-site at the UVA Children's Hospital and thus improves family access to this important program.  The attorney also provides training sessions for medical staff on legal issues that afffect family and child health.  Other programs are located in Richmond, Lynchburg, Suffolk, and Northern Virginia.  Plans are also underway to develop a statewide network.   See our CHAP webpage for all the details! 

The Child Health Advocacy Program provides the following services:

• Volunteers from the Legal Aid Justice Center are available to help families with a variety of legal problems that affect their health and well-being. Any health care provider or social worker can make a referral.  For urgent needs, contact Greg Nelsen, Social Work,  at 924-5851.
• Consultation, training and resources are available for health care providers and staff.
• A Virginia Guide to Program Development is available for other programs interested in starting a Child Health Advocacy Program.  Our Child Health Advocacy Program team are also available to provide training sessions to other sites who want to develop a program and become part of a statewide network.  Call 434-924-9130 for more information. 
• Program evaluation and patient-family satisfaction tools are presently under development.  

Family Services :   Learn more about the legal services  that may be available for families through the Child Health Advocacy Program. 

Provider Services :  Learn more about the services that are available for health care providers and staff.

Child Health Advocacy Program Brochure