Legal Initiative for Children (LINC)
Legal Initiative for Children (LINC) improves the well-being of immigrant and refugee children through legal advocacy related to public benefits and housing.
The Legal Initiative for Children (LINC) is an on-site program providing civil legal services to MGH Chelsea pediatric patients and their families to improve the conditions in which families live, and ultimately improve children’s health. The LINC attorney, made possible through a partnership with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, advocates on behalf of patients’ families to prevent eviction, maintain household utility services, apply for subsidized housing, appeal parental disability denials, and access public and disability benefits. Serving the family unit as a whole, LINC brings tangible benefits to refugee and immigrant patients. The recent integration of LINC encounters into medical record (LMR) notes has led to improved coordination of, and communication about, medical-legal issues among health center providers.
In 2012,
- 54 families received legal services.
-
Disability benefits obtained for 7 persons (12 pending appeals), eviction prevented for 5 families; public housing obtained for 9 families, public housing applications completed for 11 families and reverse denial of eligibility for housing or 5 families; utilities maintained for 3 families; Transitional Assistance obtained for 4 families, 56 process assessments completed; advocacy through letters and telephone calls on behalf of 17 families; facilitated citizenship process for 9 persons and prepared filings for bankruptcy attorneys from the Volunteer Lawyers Project.
- LINC provided in-house training session to MGH Chelsea unit chiefs, social workers, community health workers, pediatricians, adult medicine providers, medical assistants, administrative assistants: issue was Immigration and Public Benefits.
- LINC participated at the March 22nd training at the Mass Law Reform on “Immigrants and Public Benefits”.
Rosanna Batista
Phone: 617 887-3554
