By Nicole Portnov       

Five days a week, from September to June, children all over the nation pack up Spiderman lunch bags and Five Star notebooks and head off to classrooms where parents hope they are safe, healthy, and learning. Sometimes, schools are not the safest or healthiest places for kids, especially those who already have health issues like asthma or severe allergies. As a parent, what do you do when your child’s prescription isn’t enough and just being in the school building sets off an asthma attack? As the Children’s Law Center put it, “Sometimes, the best prescription for an asthma diagnosis . . .  is not medicine. It’s an attorney.”

Children’s Law Center (CLC) has partnered with health clinics across Washington, D.C. to make sure that children are safe and healthy at home and at school. CLC has embedded attorneys in each partner clinic. These attorneys work with pediatricians to address the non-medical barriers to children’s health, such as poor housing conditions and building infestations that exacerbate health conditions like asthma.

Recently, CLC announced the opening of their new office in Ward 8 at the THEARC (Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus), where they are partnering with the Children’s National Clinic. This medical-legal partnership aims to provide holistic services to families and children. Beginning this month, CLC attorney Caitlin Russi will spend two days a week at THEARC clinic, teaching families their legal rights and helping parents make sure that their children have safe and healthy environments at home and at school.

Read more about the launch of this new East of the River legal resource here.

Nicole Portnov is a member of Washington Council of Lawyers.