The Ypsilanti Health Center-Legal Services of South Central Michigan Medical-Legal Partnership (YHC-LSSCM MLP)
This project expands the Ypsilanti Health Center-Legal Services of South Central Michigan Medical-Legal Partnership (YHC-LSSCM MLP), which integrates legal professionals into healthcare settings to address social and legal issues that negatively impact patient health. The partnership addresses issues such as special education access, unsafe housing, public benefits, and other social determinants of health by embedding legal support within clinical care, helping patients navigate complex systems involving childhood education, housing instability, and access to public benefits.
Since its relaunch in 2024, the program has served 121 unique clients across 159 cases, affecting 360 household members, including 197 children, with a 96.7% success rate. The expansion will increase legal staffing, case capacity, geographic reach, interdisciplinary collaboration, and research infrastructure — extending services beyond current geographic limitations and strengthening systems-level advocacy informed by recurring legal and social barriers identified through patient care.
Funding will allow the MLP to serve more families, reduce wait times, expand beyond Washtenaw County into Legal Services of South Central Michigan's 13-county service area and Metro Detroit, and address complex legal issues more effectively. Expected outcomes include expanded capacity and impact, improved identification and resolution of health-harming legal needs, better patient stability and access to care, strengthened interdisciplinary education for future clinicians, lawyers, and social workers, and a scalable model for integrating medical-legal collaboration into other clinical settings.
U-M Teams
Medical School (opens in new tab) (primary), Law School (opens in new tab)
Secondary Contacts
Debra Chopp (Law School)
