About

The Law, Health Policy & Disability Center is a leader in law, technology, education, and research. We are focused on improving the quality of life for persons living with disabilities. Based at the University of Iowa College of Law, the Center concentrates on public policy and its impact on persons with disabilities, with an emphasis on employment, self-determination and self-sufficiency.

The Center's unique location in a college of law and its partnerships with colleges of medicine and public health promote multidisciplinary approaches to research, education and outreach. Using an internship and team approach with real-world projects, we educate the next generation of legal, sociology, social work, and public health professionals who will influence public policy through their work.

Work at the Center includes basic and policy research, evaluation, and outreach. Our knowledge utilization activities include web-based dissemination, and public speaking. We publish in both non-reviewed and peer-reviewed journals, to share our research outcomes

 

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Law, Health Policy & Disability Center receives grant to examine the intersection of mental health and criminal justice

Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Under a new grant from the Nellie Ball Trust Research Fund, the Law, Health Policy & Disability Center (LHPDC) will work with a local agency to illustrate the challenges facing individuals with mental health disorders. People with serious mental illness (SMI) are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, often because there is nowhere else to place people who may be a danger to themselves or others, says Angie Pretz, PhD, MSW, a research scientist who received the $31,000 one-year grant from the Nellie Ball Trust Research Fund. Pretz’s grant submission is titled “Criminalizing Mental Health: The intersection of Serious Mental Illness and the Criminal Legal System.”

Graves Featured in College of Law Newsletter

Tuesday, May 18, 2021
LHPDC Research Assistant Helaina Graves was featured in the Staff Spotlight section of the May 2021 College of Law Times newsletter

Jail Diversion Study

Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Heeren and Klein are co-principal investigators (with UI Social Work Professor Chris Veeh) on Jail Diversity study in Polk County. Funding from Nellie Ball Grant.

Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter

Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter is a free, monthly publication summarizing current information about disability law and policy. The newsletter aims to inform disability advocates, scholars, and service providers of the most current issues in disability law, policy, research, best practices, and breaking news.

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