ASU Law and Phoenix Children’s launch innovative Medical Legal Partnership to improve social determinants of health
ASU Law’s Civil Litigation Clinic and Phoenix Children’s have launched a Medical Legal Partnership that will provide free legal support to help families address barriers that can affect children’s health and well-being.
The Civil Litigation Clinic (the Clinic) at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and Phoenix Children’s have launched a Medical Legal Partnership to strengthen the health and well-being of children and families across communities by addressing legal and social issues that can negatively impact health outcomes.
When legal problems and social barriers — such as unstable housing, access to public benefits, unsafe living conditions or education-related challenges — interfere with a child’s health, the Clinic’s legal team can intervene to remove those obstacles.
Families will be screened for social determinants of health during their regular appointments. Any families with eligible legal needs will be referred to the Clinic for free services. Upon intake, law students — supervised by the Clinic’s director — will assess the case and provide consultation, advice and, when appropriate, extended representation.
Medical Legal Partnerships are designed to target the “root causes” that can drive avoidable health complications. Research shows that Medical Legal Partnerships result in fewer hospitalizations, fewer asthma exacerbations, improved access to care and reduced stress for participating families.
“Healthy children need more than medical care — they need safe homes, stable environments, and access to essential resources,” said Tracy Ortega, director of the Civil Litigation Clinic. “This partnership allows us to address the root causes that undermine children’s health, while giving law students hands-on litigation and advocacy experience.”
“At Phoenix Children’s, we believe in whole-child care and proactively identify factors that can impact a child’s health and well-being beyond the clinical setting through our social determinants of health screening program,” said Chad Johnson, senior vice president of Phoenix Children’s Care Network (PCCN) and Phoenix Children’s Medical Group (PCMG) Operations. “This partnership expands the resources available to families, helping address barriers that affect health and connecting children and caregivers with additional support they need to thrive.”
The Medical Legal Partnership will begin serving patients and their families at Phoenix Children’s in Fall 2026 in the Complex Care Clinic and Developmental Pediatrics.
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