There's a lawyer in my clinic ... and I wouldn't have it any other way! Actually, the lawyer has an office upstairs. Her name is Mallory Curran, she is a crucial player on our health-care team. I don't know how I would practice without her.
Here's how a lawyer delivers health care: I am seeing a child with learning disabilities, who is failing in school. It's clear that he needs special help, but he's not getting much. I could spend 20 minutes trying to explain the ins-and-outs of our special education law, and be late for my next 5 appointments. Instead, I refer the family to our lawyer.
Federal law requires that public schools give each child an "appropriate" education. That means that the school has to provide whatever the child needs in order to be able to learn. One child might need special seating and a modified workload. Another needs a special class for reading. Children with severe learning or emotional disabilities might need to be in a completely separate school. The law spells out how the schools and parents need to work together to create an individualized education plan - known in the business as an IEP - that will meet the child's needs.
The process is complicated. Parents often feel that the school is not giving their children what they need. One parent was told that her child would have to fail second grade, for the second time, before an evaluation could even begin! Another child with learning disabilities was being taught in an honors classroom, because a more appropriate class wasn't available. Schools, for their part, are often overwhelmed with children who need to be assessed and accommodated in the system. Special education is expensive, and there is only so much money.
This is where our lawyer steps in. She educates parents about their rights under the law. She helps them write the necessary letters. Based on her knowledge of the education system, she can often make suggestions about the best classes and programs to meet the child's individual needs. And, if necessary, she talks directly to the school department, to assure that the child is treated fairly under the law.
Not every case has to do with special education, of course. Our lawyer also helps children with disabilities qualify for social security under the SSI program. She helps families qualify for help with housing assistance, child care, medical insurance, and other support programs. She helps families get what they need.
But is all of this really "health care?" Of course it is! A child cannot be healthy if she can't learn in school. A family cannot be healthy if its home is falling apart, or located in a neighborhood where it's unsafe to walk outside.
Children from well-to-do families don't need to see a lawyer when they come to the doctor. But children who live near the bottom of our economic ladder often do. Is there a lawyer in the house? Thankfully, the answer is Yes.
[Note: Mallory Curran works for the Family Advocacy Program, which is supported by MetroHealth Medical System, the Cleveland Legal Aid Society, and grants from several foundations. There are similar programs in 27 cities across the country. To learn more, go to http://www.familyadvocacyprogram.org/.]
