Many members of the pro bono and legal services communities may not yet know about the Community Public Health Legal Preparedness Initiative (CPHLPI) - the first project fully implemented under the CDC's Memorandum of Understanding with the American Bar Association (ABA).

A critical element in the nation's efforts to prepare for public health emergencies is ensuring that members of the legal profession are expertly versed in public health emergency law so that they can offer legal advice to their clients before, during, and after an emergency.

This requirement is especially important for healthcare and public health attorneys whose clients may include traditional frontline responders such as hospitals, healthcare systems, and public health agencies. The Community Public Health Legal Preparedness Initiative was developed to address this need. To date, legal readiness workshops based on the CPHLPI model have been customized for delivery in seven jurisdictions across the country. We invite you to read The CPHLPI Workshop Director's Guide.

You can learn more about the role of pro bono lawyers in responding to the legal assistance needs of persons affected by public health emergencies from the Recommendation and Report sponsored by the ABA Health Law Section and adopted by the ABA House of Delegates in August 2004, which can be found at http://www.abanet.org/leadership/2004/annual/dailyjournal/102.doc.

For more information about this important project, please contact:

Montrece Ransom, JD
Senior Public Health Analyst
Public Health Law Program
Office of the Chief of Public Health Practice Centers for Disease Control & Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd., Mailstop D-30
Atlanta, GA 30303
T: 404-639-4630 F: 404-639-7150
mransom@cdc.gov