Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP)
A Medical-Legal Partnership for Children
The Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP) at the University of Virginia is a unique medical-legal collaboration between the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the Legal Aid Justice Center, designed to improve the health and welfare of families whose children receive health care at the University of Virginia.
Full-time program attorney, Carolyn Pointer, works on-site at the UVA Children’s Hospital, thereby improving family access to this important program, and also provides training sessions for medical staff on legal issues that affect family and child health.
A statewide network has evolved, with other CHAP programs located in Richmond, Lynchburg, Suffolk, and Northern Virginia, and plans underway for new programs in Norfolk and Roanoke. See the CHAP site at the Legal Aid Justice Center for details.
About Our Services
The Child Health Advocacy Program provides an array of services:
- Volunteers from the Legal Aid Justice Center are available to help families with a variety of legal problems that affect their health and well-being. Any health care provider or social worker can make a referral. For urgent needs, contact Greg Nelsen, Social Work, at 924-5851.
- Consultation, training and resources are available for health care providers and staff.
- A Virginia Guide to Program Development is available for other programs interested in starting a Child Health Advocacy Program. Our Child Health Advocacy Program team is also available to provide training sessions to other sites who want to develop a program and become part of a statewide network. Call 434-924-9130 for more information.
- Program evaluation and patient-family satisfaction tools are presently under development.
We encourage you to review our brochure and to explore our site for information about legal services for families and services available for health care providers and staff.