PROVIDER SERVICES

Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP) Legal Services:   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 which provides legal assistance to low-income families whose children  receive their health care at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital.  Volunteers from the Legal Aid Justice Center are available in our clinic to help families with a variety of legal problems that affect their health and well-being, including problems related to benefits, housing, family, school, and consumer issues.  Our program has grown steadily since beginning in 2004 and we are now on track to serve 200 families per year.  Our program has just received an award of $125,000 from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund to be used to hire an attorney to work on-site at the UVA Children's Hospital to increase family access to legal services.

The goals of the Child Health Advocacy Program are:

1.  To provide legal advocacy to families needing legal assistance with such needs as housing, public benefits, school services, child support, disability, consumer law, etc. identified during the course of patient care to positively impact child health outcomes.

2.  To train medical staff about legal issues that affect family and child health.

3.  To develop a statewide network of child health advocacy programs that effectively links health systems, legal aid offices, and law schools in order to better serve families throughout Virginia;  such a network will include statewide data collection for outcomes and patient-family satisfaction, as well as on-going site development and support of new programs.

4.  To pursue systemic policy advocacy to effect positive changes for Virginia's families.     

 

To make a referral to CHAP: You may fax a referral form to legal aid or you may make a referral through social worker Greg Nelsen, 924-5851.   

 

Advocacy Resources:   

Advocacy Code Card , which contains contact information for community resources  in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties.   

A Virginia Guide to Program Development is available to others who are interested in setting up a child health advocacy program.  Call 434-924-9130 or email childadvocacy@virginia.edu for more information.

Child Health Advocacy Program Training.  Dr. Diane Pappas and Kimberly Emery, Assistant Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest are available to provide training sessions to other sites who are interested in developing a child health advocacy program.  Plans are underway to develop a statewide network of child health  advocacy programs.  Call 434-924-9130 or email childadvocacy@virginia.edu for more information.

Program Evaluation and Patient-Family Outcomes Evaluation.  Evaluation tools are presently under development and will be made available as soon as possible.   

Consultations:   Consultation is available to health care providers.  Contact Greg Nelsen, Social Work, at 924-5851 to arrange for consultation.