HHS – Medical Legal Partnerships Plus (+)

By NLADA on August 1, 2023

Applications due: 4:30 pm ET August 28, 2023

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services has announced the availability of a brand-new funding opportunity — Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (MLP+). OCS will make approximately $1.6 million available through a competitive award process to a limited pool of applicants. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to provide support for MLPs to build, expand, and strengthen their capacity to provide comprehensive legal services and wraparound social services to families with low incomes to address health harming legal needs and improve their overall health. MLPs will use this funding to increase their capacity to serve vulnerable families, including enhancing and/or increasing legal services and building and/or strengthening partnerships with social service providers to fully address health harming legal and social needs. Recipients will participate fully in a federal evaluation and follow all evaluation protocols established by ACF and/or its designee contractor(s). Fully participating in a federal evaluation may include supporting and complying with data collection requirements, providing administrative data on program participation, and other activities. In addition, the federal evaluation may include an evaluation of the implementation of MLP+.

OCS will award bonus points to applicants that successfully demonstrate their designation as a child-focused MLP or as a MLP that is affiliated with or designated as either a safety-net nonprofit hospital or a Native and/or Minority Serving Institution. See Section IV.2. The Project Description, Approach for more information

Helpful resources

A pre-application webinar will be available for viewing no later than 10 days after publication a https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/grants until the closing of this NOFO. The goal of the prerecorded webinar is to outline MLP+’s program’s purpose and strategies; provide key dates for submitting an application for MLP+; and review key application criteria and requirements, as outlined in the NOFO. Viewing the pre-recorded webinar is voluntary. Only the information provided in this NOFO will be presented. No question-and-answer portion will be conducted during the session. Participants will remain anonymous. Opting not to view the webinar will not affect eligibility, application scoring, or the selection process. Applicants will be able to access the recording and transcript on the program office website at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/grants
View the National Legal Aid Resource Development Technical Assistance Project, which is co-sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) and its Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives, the Management Information Exchange (MIE), the National Association of IOLTA Programs (NAIP), and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) http://ambar.org/abarray
The Justice in Government Project at American University has curated research briefs on how civil legal aid helps survivors of domestic violence and vulnerable populations. You can access the briefs on legalaidresources.org in the toolkit.
Want help making your case? The Justice Index scores and ranks states on their adoption of best practices for ensuring access to justice. Find how well your state is doing here.

Grant information

Funding Title: Medical-Legal Partnerships Plus (+)

Agency Name: Department of Health and Human Services

Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2023-ACF-OCS-EMP-0085

Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes

Expected Number of Awards: 6

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Yes

Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,600,000

Award Ceiling: $250,000

Award Floor: $100,000

Current Closing Date for Applications: by August 28, 2023

Eligible Applicants:

To be eligible for this award, applicants must submit signed documentation on letterhead (i.e., a contract, MOU, or other declaration of partnership) demonstrating the MLP partnership and attesting to at least 5 years of experience operating as an MLP. Documentation must be titled “Evidence of Medical-Legal Partnership Operation” in the application. Documentation must be added to the Appendix section of the application.