A new partnership providing free legal services to low-income families, focusing on medical-legal issues like housing stability, income support and family law launched between the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law’s Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaiʻi (MLPC) and Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
MLPC pairs legal professionals with health care providers to tackle issues affecting patients’ overall health and well-being. This model involves offering on-site legal services at Kapiʻolani Medical Center, educating health care professionals on legal matters and engaging in policy advocacy to create systemic change.
“Our MLPC collaboration works because we co-locate ‘legal care’ and ‘health care’ in trusted health care settings,” said Dina Shek, legal director of MLPC. “This means our lawyers might be able to meet with families right in their exam rooms during appointments. By partnering with the communities we serve, we have effectively addressed policy and systemic advocacy issues like restoring Medicaid benefits for Micronesians and advocating for language access and immigrant rights in Hawaiʻi.”
The MLPC program site at Kapiʻolani Medical Center was funded by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) through a grant to address health disparities and advance health equity. This partnership builds on the MLPC‘s long-standing relationship with Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (KKV).
Extending its reach
The partnership allows the MLPC team to extend its reach, offering support to families with hospitalized children who may face legal challenges affecting their health and well-being. In one case, MLPC expedited a stalled reasonable accommodation request in public housing that had prevented a safe discharge for a hospitalized child. The MLPC attorney’s work made it possible for the housing changes to happen more quickly, which shortened the hospital stay, resulting in significant cost savings and more stable housing for the family.
“This partnership with the UH Richardson School of Law has been a game changer for me and the entire social work department,” said Waynell Hee-Goodman, manager of medical social services at Kapiʻolani Medical Center. “The legal guidance gives us more confidence in our ability to help patients address issues like food insecurity and transportation to clinical care.”
“Community partnerships in both education and patient care are timeless and have progressively improved the health and well-being of Hawaiʻi’s people over many generations,” said Kenneth Nakamura, chief of pediatrics at Kapiʻolani Medical Center. “This is part of Hawaiʻi Pacific Health’s mission to create healthier communities—not just for some, but for all our people.”
Since its founding in 2009, MLPC has served nearly 2,000 families. The program’s innovative approach, which integrates legal services into healthcare settings, has empowered families to navigate complex systems more easily. Being embedded into healthcare sites allows MLPC to work with health care providers to ensure that social and economic factors do not impede medical care.
“When we think about how our health care systems are or should be designed, our partnership with Kapiʻolani provides an ideal model in many ways. We’re working together to integrate different areas of expertise to help address not just an immediate medical need, but also the health-harming social needs all at once,” said Ashley Kaono, staff attorney for MLPC. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing alliance, and look forward to all the good work ahead.”
As the program moves forward, additional funding from state and federal grants will help sustain and expand its efforts. Key supporters include Kapiʻolani Medical Center, KKV, Hawaiʻi Justice Foundation, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, DOH and UH.
