All families should have equitable access to resources that allow them to thrive. Preventive legal advocacy aims to resolve upstream legal problems to strengthen families, address the social determinants of health, and eliminate unnecessary reports to child protective services for issues that high-quality legal advocacy can resolve. Legal advocacy may include addressing food, income, and housing insecurity; protection from wrongful denial of government entitlements and benefits; tackling educational issues such as special education eligibility; and securing protection from intimate partner violence. Ideally, preventive legal advocacy should involve multidisciplinary legal representation, including the support of a social worker and experts with lived expertise.
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