Social Care Matters: Do Teams Have What They Need to Succeed?
May 2021
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Recently published in the Rhode Island Medical Journal:
“Social Care Matters: Do Teams Have What They Need to Succeed?“
Care team toolboxes have to keep up with the law and policy landscape of people’s lives, says MLPB’s Samantha Morton and valued colleagues:
- Linda Cabral, MM, SBIRT/CHT Project Manager at Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island/PCMH Kids;
- Elizabeth Lynch, LICSW, Director of Behavioral Health and Social Services at Thundermist Health Center; and
- Baraka Floyd, MD, MSc, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Associate Chair for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the Department of Pediatrics at the Stanford School of Medicine.
This is why a team-facing legal partnering strategy — which complements more familiar client-facing legal partnering — is foundational. Check out the Commentary here!
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Key Law & Policy Updates

Federal Eviction Moratorium
Are you partnering with people confronting housing instability? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Moratorium (the national moratorium) will be ending on June 30, 2021. For more information, head to our federal Digital Digest . . .

New Emergency Broadband Benefit!
Incorporating internet access into your social care toolbox with the people you serve? The Federal Communications Commission has launched a temporary program known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit to expand household access nationally.
Learn more about this new benefit, including eligibility and enrollment details, at www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or by calling 833-511-0311.
Just a couple more days to apply for fuel assistance in Massachusetts!

Talking with people about the high cost of gas and electricity? Deadline for fuel assistance applications = Friday, May 28, 2021! Contact the account holder’s local community assistance program (CAP) at masscap.org to apply
- Once applicants are approved for fuel assistance, they will be eligible for a low-income discount (LID)Some gas and electric companies offer the discount retroactive to November 1, 2020 (or even before in certain circumstances); however:
- Applicants (utility customers) cannot request the retroactive LID themselves . . . an advocate/representative must call the utility company’s customer service line on their behalf to make this request
- Note: Any retroactive discount prior to the date of the application’s approval is discretionary (not a legal right)
- You can help your patients, clients and neighbors by offering to outreach on their behalf! Don’t miss this window of opportunity.
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The Virtual National Health Equity Summit
Join Samantha Morton for a Mini Summit on Legal Information and Rights Education as an Element of Care: A Promising Health Justice Strategy on Wednesday, June 9 at 11:15am EST. Learn more about this event here!

MLPB’s Digital Digest
Questions about (1) law and policy changes that impact the people you serve, and (2) role-aligned problem-solving strategies you can offer?
Visit MLPB’s Digital Digest for curated information on evolving resources, benefits, and legal protections — currently covering key federal law as well as state laws in MA and RI.
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Access to Justice, Civil Rights & Health
- Criminalization of Gender-Affirming Care — Interfering with Essential Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents (The New England Journal of Medicine, 5/19/2021)
- Office of the Attorney General Memorandum: Access to Justice (Office of the Attorney General, 5/18/2021)
- Clinics Respond to Anti-Asian Hate with Many Kinds of Support (California Health Care Foundation, 5/13/2021)
- COVID-19 Data on Trans and Gender-Expansive People, Stat! (Health Affairs Blog, 5/12/2021)
- Establishing Medical Civil Rights (The New England Journal of Medicine, 4/28/2021)
Disparities, Equity & Social Health Integration
- The “Legal Epidemiology” of Pandemic Control (The New England Journal of Medicine, 5/27/2021)
- Five Keys to Realizing Health Equity in US Health Plans (Health Affairs Blog, 5/20/2021)
- Centering Equity in the Design and Use of Health Information Systems: Partnering with Communities on Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data (Health Affairs Blog, 5/19/2021)
- A Prospective Cohort Study of Ambient Air Pollution Exposure and Risk of Uterine Leiomyomata (Human Reproduction, 5/13/2021)
- As States Continue to Experiment in Medicaid, Look to Section 1115 Waiver Evaluations to Understand What Works (Health Affairs Blog, 5/12/2021)
- An Actionable Framework to Address Cancer Care Disparities in Medically Underserved Communities (ASCO Connection, 5/3/2021)
- What We Need to Be Healthy — And How to Talk About It (Health Affairs Blog, 5/3/2021)
Early Childhood & Health
- More Kids, and Younger Kids, In Need of Mental Health Treatment and Support in Rhode Island (The Boston Globe, 5/19/2021)
- ‘There is a Mental Health Crisis,’ Pediatric Psychiatrist Warns of Pandemic’s Toll (HealthCity, 5/18/2021)
- Creating an Agenda for Children’s Resiliency and Health (Health Affairs Blog, 4/21/2021)
- 2021 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook (Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, 2021)
Employment, Income Supports & Health
- Temporary Financial Assistance Decreased Health Care Costs for Veterans Experiencing Housing Instability (Health Affairs, May 2021) (subscription required)
- Unemployment Benefit Changes Advance in General Assembly (Providence Business News, 5/11/2021)
Food Security
- A Solution for Hunger Takes Shape in Chelsea and Cambridge (The Boston Globe, 5/17/2021)
- Food Insecurity in the Disability Community: Disparities in SNAP Access (Health Affairs Blog, 5/17/2021)
- In Massachusetts, 1.6 Million Adults are Struggling to Get Enough to Eat (The Boston Globe, 5/5/2021)
- Gaps in Food Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Massachusetts (The Greater Boston Food Bank, May 2021)
Housing & Health
- When No Landlord Will Rent to You, Where Do You Go? (The New York Times, 5/20/2021)
- Medicaid Waivers and Tenancy Supports for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness: Implementation Challenges in Four States (The Millbank Quarterly, 4/27/2021)
- Eviction and Health: A Vicious Cycle Exacerbated By A Pandemic (Health Affairs, 4/1/2021)
Immigration Status & Health
- Re-Imagining the Asylum System: Recommendations from Asylum Medicine Experts (Health Affairs Blog, 5/12/2021)
- Know Your Rights: Top 5 Facts About Public Charge (Protecting Immigrant Families, March 2021)
Intimate Partner Violence & Health
- Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act to Improve Health Care for Survivors of Relationship and Sexual Violence (Health Affairs Blog, 5/14/2021)
Utilities & Health
- Boston’s Long-Dormant Human Rights Commission Reemerges with Push for Broadband Access (The Boston Globe, 5/24/2021)