named programs · 3 · from sources
What they call their work
Conditions of Confinement
Advocates for improved healthcare policies and practices in prisons to ensure incarcerated individuals receive constitutionally mandated medical care.
Education
Provides medically grounded education to clinicians, decision-makers, and the public on health issues in carceral settings to inform policy and legal decisions.
Medical Release
Supports compassionate release efforts for terminally ill and incapacitated prisoners by providing medical expertise to attorneys, judges, and parole boards.
activities · 5 groups
What they do
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Criminal Justice Policy Advocacy 2 activities
- Conducting and publishing research on medical justice and health in carceral settingsConducts and publishes research to advance understanding of health issues within the criminal legal system, including articles on integrating care for justice-involved patients into medical training and annual impact reports that document organizational outcomes and field insights.
- Supporting legal advocacy through amicus briefs and policy engagementEngages in advocacy by joining amicus briefs on issues such as juvenile incarceration and publishing op-eds to influence policy, including calls for improved compassionate release procedures in New York and warnings about the dangers of extreme weather in carceral facilities.
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Legal Education and Career Pipeline Programs 1 activity
- Building institutional partnerships with law and medical schoolsDevelops academic partnerships with 30 institutions, including collaborations with 56 law schools and medical schools, to integrate medical justice work into professional education and expand the reach of its programs.
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Volunteer and Professional Training Programs 1 activity
- Delivering training and support resources for volunteer medical expertsOffers a training curriculum, best practices, writing guides, and individualized support to equip volunteer medical experts with the skills and knowledge needed to effectively contribute to legal cases involving incarcerated individuals.
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Healthcare Provider Directories and Clinical Support Services 1 activity
- Maintaining a national network of volunteer medical cliniciansMobilizes and maintains a national network of 840 volunteer board-certified physicians and other clinicians across 30 medical specialties to support legal cases involving incarcerated individuals. The network operates in 47 states and provides expertise through case reviews, testimony, and collaboration with public interest attorneys.
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Uncategorized 1 activity
- Providing pro bono medical expert services in legal cases for incarcerated individualsProvides volunteer medical experts to review medical records, conduct phone interviews with incarcerated clients, and submit written testimony in individual and class action legal cases involving gaps in medical care, compassionate release, and injunctive relief. Supported 916 case submissions across 47 states, achieving an 82% success rate in case outcomes.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$285K
Contributions & grants$285K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$373K
Program expenses73%
Admin / overhead14%
Fundraising13%
Salaries & benefits$238K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$496K
Cash$361K
Investments$0
Liabilities$13K
Net assets$484K
Liquid reserves11.6 mo
2 years on record · 2023–2024 · YoY revenue -41.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 1
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| DR MARK FENIG | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $67K |
board members · 6
- ALELUR DURAN — DIRECTOR
- DANIEL SMOKLER — DIRECTOR
- DEBORAH J WHITE — DIRECTOR
- JOSHUA SAFRAN — SECRETARY
- REBECCA SILBER — CHAIR
- STEFEN R SHORT — DIRECTOR
relationships · 17
Who they work with
- Abolitionist Law Center Partner — Collaborates with MJA to represent incarcerated individuals with serious medical and mental health conditions.
- Arnold Ventures Funder — Supports MJA through its criminal justice reform initiatives led by board chair Becky Silber.
- FAMM Partner — Collaborates on resources related to federal compassionate release rules
- FAMM Partner — Partner organization where board member Mary Price serves as Senior Counsel and General Counsel, advancing compassionate release and sentencing reform.
- Federal Defender Partner — Legal partner organization that works with MJA to secure medical expert input for clients in federal criminal defense cases.
- Galaxy Gives Funder — Funds MJA's work through its Criminal Justice Reform portfolio; co-founder Mark Fenig is a Galaxy Gives Leader Fellow.
- Harvard Partner — MJA volunteer and MJA honored with Harvard Community Service Award.
- Legal Aid Society of the City of New York Partner — Collaborates through board member Stefen R. Short, supervising attorney of the Prisoners’ Rights Project.
- Montefiore Medical Center Partner — Institutional affiliation of board member Dr. Deborah J. White, who contributes expertise in emergency medicine and social medicine.
- Mt. Sinai Human Rights Program Partner — Refers attorneys to the Mt. Sinai Human Rights Program for medical forensic examinations when such services are needed.
- New York Department of Corrections Government — Engages with the department's medical parole review process by submitting independent medical evaluations for incarcerated individuals.
- Open Society Foundations Funder — Partner organization whose alumni include board member Alex Duran, who previously supported U.S. mass incarceration grantmaking efforts.
- Physicians for Human Rights Partner — Refers attorneys to Physicians for Human Rights for medical forensic examinations when such services are needed.
- Promise of Justice Initiative Partner — Former employer of Director of Medical Legal Projects Nishi Kumar, where she advocated at the intersection of mass incarceration and healthcare.
- Rush University Medical Center Partner — William Weber, MD, MPH, affiliated with Rush University Medical Center, serves as medical director at the Medical Justice Alliance.
- The Legal Aid Society Partner — Legal partner organization that collaborates with MJA by submitting case requests and representing clients in cases involving medical care gaps.
- University of California, San Francisco Partner — Institutional affiliation of board member Dr. Brie Williams, whose research and leadership in Amend and ARCH Network align with MJA’s mission.
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Clinical Education and Policy Guidance to Shift Decision-Maker Behaviormethodology: carceral_health_educationBy educating physicians, attorneys, and policymakers with clinically informed resources, MJA improves decision-making around compassionate release and carceral health, because targeted education shapes institutional practices and policies more effectively than awareness alone.
- Independent Clinical Advocacy to Drive Systemic Reformmethodology: independent_medical_advocacyBy deploying independent medical evaluations and expert testimony, MJA identifies systemic deficiencies in carceral healthcare and advocates for policy change, because objective clinical evidence is more likely to influence judicial, legal, and legislative decision-making than anecdotal reports.
- Medical-Legal Partnership for Incarcerated Health Advocacymethodology: medical-legal partnershipBy integrating medical expertise with legal advocacy, MJA strengthens claims for adequate healthcare and compassionate release in carceral settings, because clinical evidence enhances legal arguments around constitutional rights and medical necessity.
- Sustainable Pro Bono Model to Remove Cost Barriers to Medical Expertisemethodology: sustainable pro bono modelBy providing pro bono and low-bono expert medical witness services, MJA ensures that financial constraints do not prevent legal teams from accessing clinical testimony, because removing cost barriers increases access to justice for incarcerated individuals with serious health needs.