{"id":31992,"date":"2022-08-15T17:15:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T17:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/preventive-legal-advocacy-programs\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:31:02","slug":"programas-de-defensa-legal-preventiva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/preventive-legal-advocacy-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 son los programas de defensa jur\u00eddica preventiva, multidisciplinarios y basados en la comunidad?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summary<\/h3>\n

This brief explores three types of PLA models \u2014 school-legal partnerships, pediatric medical-legal partnerships, and community-based support and advocacy \u2014 to highlight key elements, challenges, and sustainability issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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In 2020, three of every four children that the child protection system deemed victims of child maltreatment fell into the category of neglect, not abuse. The system, however, is often not effective at distinguishing between intentional neglect<\/b><\/span> (such as abandonment or refusal to seek medical treatment) and neglect from inequitable community conditions<\/b><\/span> (such as a lack of access to adequate food, housing, child care, and other material resources). In the U.S., families from low-income households average at least one civil legal need1<\/sup><\/a> each year, potentially putting them at risk for unwarranted referral to the child protection system \u2014 and the family surveillance, separation, and related traumas that can follow.2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Preventive legal advocacy<\/span> (PLA) is one type of upstream support that helps families avoid needless involvement with the child welfare system. PLA connects families to legal aid that can address equitable access to the social determinants of health<\/span><\/a>,3<\/sup><\/a>,<\/sup>4<\/sup><\/a> which for many children and families is a more appropriate first intervention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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PLA bridges an important gap in identifying and subsequently providing support for families experiencing challenges such as unsafe housing, protection from domestic violence, or income instability \u2014 all conditions that potentially can harm health, disrupt educational progress, and endanger families. These family challenges often are beyond the capacity of child protective service investigators, medical professionals, or educators to address themselves and instead require collaboration with those working in legal advocacy. As such, mandatory reporters who often make referrals to child protection for poverty-related concerns<\/span><\/a> \u2014 including doctors, therapists, and teachers \u2014 need to be made aware of PLA as an alternative intervention.5<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Far too many families lack adequate income, housing, or education because of systemic inequities that have left opportunities scarce in certain communities, particularly communities of color. Emerging evidence<\/span><\/a> suggests PLA programs help mitigate or eliminate many conditions that bring families to the attention of child welfare, including housing instability, education instability, interpersonal violence, and immigration issues, and unhealthy environmental conditions at home<\/span><\/a>. As a prevention strategy, PLA incorporates family voice. Attorneys maintain strict confidentiality with their clients and ethically are required to advance their clients\u2019 stated goals.<\/p>\n

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Child welfare and judicial leaders can help support the development of PLA programs by reaching out to legal aid organizations and their medical and education partners. Their conversations can revolve around which communities would benefit most from PLA, what resources would best support PLA initiatives, and how evaluations of PLA could help the child welfare community to better understand the relationship between legal advocacy and improved outcomes for families.<\/p>\n

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This brief explores three different types of PLA models \u2014 school-legal partnerships, pediatric medical-legal partnerships, and community-based support and advocacy \u2014 to highlight key elements, challenges, and sustainability issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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PLA models<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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School-legal partnership\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

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Launched in 2018, the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy\u2019s School-Based Civil Legal Clinic<\/span><\/a> (SBCLC), which serves the Evanston\/Skokie school district in Illinois, provides free civil legal advice and representation to families that meet eligibility requirements and seek legal aid to help their school-age children remain in school and succeed. All clients have access to social workers and wraparound services for families in crisis, including anger management and counseling. Most referrals come from school social workers, although anyone can refer a family to the program.<\/p>\n

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Established in 2016, the Standing with Our Neighbors<\/span><\/a> (SWON) program of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is a school-based civil legal aid initiative designed to minimize school disruptions for students by ensuring they and their families have access to safe and stable housing. The SWON strategy is four-pronged:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Get into the community.<\/b><\/span> SWON is currently in nine schools, and each multidisciplinary school-staffing model pairs an attorney with at least one community advocate.<\/li>\n
  2. Develop relationships.<\/b><\/span> The community advocate prioritizes engagement of families by attending school events and making home visits, and being fully present in the community.<\/li>\n
  3. Meet the needs expressed by the family.<\/b><\/span> With a goal to provide holistic support to families, SWON offers legal advocacy for housing and domestic violence issues, and often provides immediate stabilizing support.<\/li>\n
  4. Learn from the community.<\/b> <\/span>SWON has developed resources to anticipate the needs of families, such as making hotel vouchers, dehumidifiers, or short-term cash assistance available to families. These important resources can stabilize a family\u2019s housing situation early while larger legal issues are addressed.6<\/sup><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    Both SWON and SBCLC hand off cases to pro bono partners when more specialized legal expertise is required. Most of the SWON schools have been \u201cadopted\u201d by law firms as part of the firms\u2019 commitment to corporate social responsibility and pro bono volunteerism.<\/p>\n

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    Medical-legal partnership\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

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    The Children\u2019s Law Center\u2019s Healthy Together Medical-Legal Partnership<\/span><\/a> (Healthy Together) program, which started in 2002 in Washington, D.C., and the Carolina Health Advocacy Medicolegal Partnership<\/span><\/a> (CHAMPS), which was created in 2017 in South Carolina, are examples of PLA programs working to address upstream \u201chealth-harming legal needs\u201d as part of a pediatric medical team. The philosophy is similar to that of PLA programs in the school setting: in partnership with medical providers and lawyers, resolving health-harming legal needs for the parent\/caregiver will lead to the improved health and well-being of children. The multidisciplinary approach integrates medicine, social work, and legal advocacy to promote the well-being of children and families by addressing the social determinants of health, incorporating lawyers as part of a family\u2019s healthcare team.<\/p>\n

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    The programs are designed to address a wide array of legal needs for families, including housing, special education, public benefits, and protection from domestic violence. Like the school legal partnerships, handoffs to pro bono partners and providing holistic support to families are integral elements to these programs.<\/p>\n

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    Community-based support and advocacy\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

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    Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico<\/span><\/a>, launched in 2015, is not site-specific, but works to advocate against systemic inequities at the broader community level, while still working directly with individuals and families. It also promotes legal education and legal support for people from low-income communities. The organization views prevention as a key part of its advocacy strategy and works to anticipate and resolve legal conflicts prior to court involvement, teaching community members how to navigate systems themselves to prevent both current and emerging\/future legal issues. Four core elements anchor the community-based approach: legal empowerment (which includes advocating for public policy and equitable access to justice), disaster recovery, tenants\u2019 rights, and foreclosure avoidance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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    Core elements<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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    The evidence base for PLA is still being developed, but early experience across these five programs reveals three key elements<\/b> <\/span>for others to consider when creating and sustaining their programs of their own:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n