Salus Populi Part 2

Social factors, including housing affordability, quality and stability, socio-economic position, and structural racism are critical determinants of health for children and families. To equip lawyers with tools and information to argue for the wellbeing of children and families, this course will introduce how these factors, collectively referred to as the “social determinants of health” (SDOH), impact individual and population health and inequities in health.

This interactive course will include discussions of the socio-ecological model of health, constrained choice theory, and population health. The course will also illustrate the interconnectedness among SDOH and explore how they intersect with legal issues that arise in child welfare and juvenile law cases in Massachusetts. The course will also discuss the terminology and methodology that epidemiologists and other public health researchers use to understand how the SDOH impact health, and discuss how lawyers can raise issues related to the SDOH in child welfare and juvenile law cases. 

This webinar is part two of a two-part free webinar series.

Topics covered in part two:

• What issues litigants may face in juvenile court and in family/child welfare court as it pertains to the intersection of health and law from a judicial perspective
• How can lawyers and advocates better and most effectively face court and provide a complete picture of the litigant that serves their interest
• What are some common oversights or missteps advocates make when it comes to representing children in cases where law as a SDOH is material
• What are areas of opportunity as it pertains to the SDOH

Presenters:

Hon. Jay Blitzman (ret.) – Former First Justice, Massachusetts Juvenile Court

Judge Blitzman is a retired First Justice of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court. Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Blitzman was a founder and the first director of the Roxbury Youth Advocacy Project, a community-based interdisciplinary public defender unit that created the basis for the development of a statewide department. Now retired, Judge Blitzman regularly publishes, presents, teaches, and advises on a wide array of issues, including racial and ethnic equity in all contexts and adolescent development. Judge Blitzman was a co-founder of Our RJ, a school and pre arraignment restorative justice initiative. He currently serves on the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk and has been appointed as the ABA Advisor to the Criminalization of Student Discipline Committee of the Uniform Law Committee.

Wendy Parmet, JD – Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Center for Health Policy and Law, Northeastern University

Wendy E. Parmet, JD, is the Matthews Distinguished University Professor of Law at Northeastern University. She is also the Faculty Director of the Center for Health Policy and Law. For over thirty years, she has worked to enhance the legal system’s understanding of population health. Her 2023 book, Constitutional Contagion: COVID, the Courts and Public Health, looks at how judicial decisions have adversely affected health, including by augmenting health inequities. Professor Parmet is also the faculty director of the Public Health Law Watch’s judicial tracking project as part of the Act for Public Health partnership. In that capacity, she is helping to lead efforts to develop a new strategy to address judicial decisions that adversely affect public health. Professor Parmet teaches and oversees the legal part of Salus Populi’s curriculum.

CLE:

California (60-minute hour) – This participatory activity has been accredited by the State Bar of California for a maximum of 1.5 hours of General credit for live and on-demand participation. Attorneys must sign in for CLE.

Colorado (50‐minute hour) – This course has been accredited by the Colorado Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education for a maximum of 1.8 units of General credit for live and on-demand participation. Attorneys must sign in for CLE. Colorado is a self-report state.

Attorneys in all other jurisdictions must seek CLE accreditation individually if desired.