The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Department of Veteran Affairs" ...
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Uncounted Casualties
A three-day series that analyzed causes of death for 266 Texas veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The six-month investigation uncovered previously unknown information, pulling data from a variety of federal, state and local sources. The series, which also depended on extensive interviews with family members and fellow service members, revealed the startling number of Texas veterans dying of prescription drug overdoses, suicides and motor vehicle crashes. The newspaper's analysis was hailed by epidemiologists and former Department of Veterans Affairs researchers as an important step in understanding veteran mortality, and led to calls for better government tracking of how veterans are dying.
Tags: Veterans; Iraq; Afghanistan; prescription drug overdoses; suicides; vehicle crashes
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Returning Home to Battle
While the Obama administration declared care for returning U.S. military personnel to be a top priority, reporter Aaron Glantz found something entirely different when he drilled down in the San Francisco Bay Area – home to more than a quarter-million veterans. In a series of stories for The Bay Citizen, which is part of the Center for Investigative Reporting, Glantz exposed an alarming failure inside the Department of Veterans Affairs, where mistakes and massive delays in processing disability claims for ailing veterans were the norm, sometimes leading to tragic consequences. Glantz was the first to detail this trend, finding that tens of thousands of Northern California veterans had been waiting an average of 313 days for a decision from the Oakland office on compensation claims for conditions as serious as traumatic brain injury. The Oakland regional office ranks fifth in the nation for number of veterans served – nearly 1 million veterans from the Oregon border to Bakersfield. The story was so shocking it prompted 16 members of Congress to demand immediate help for veterans filing through Oakland. More action quickly followed. Glantz had found through his reporting that the problem was not limited to the Bay Area. Next he set out to show it. The decision to dig deeper – to go beyond the local story – helped bring greater context to such a critically important issue. Through rich storytelling and clear writing, Glantz ably captured the plight of our veterans in his series, Returning Home to Battle.
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Benefits Denied
This series reveals the “shameful failing of both the state and federal government in living up to its promises to both Indiana’s most vulnerable and it’s most brave”. The story began when a “1.3 billion dollar state welfare contract” was cancelled and “new federal directives were sent to every V.A. office nationwide”. Further, when people were sick and turning to the V.A. for help, their requests were denied.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs; medical care; Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA); support; military; soldiers; agencies
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Agent Orange: A Lethal Legacy
This investigation reveals the high costs and consequences of herbicides, such as Agent Orange, used by the US military during the Vietnam War. Not only are the veterans suffering from the consequences of herbicides, but also the children of these veterans. These children suffer from multiple cancers, birth defects, and other conditions. The conditions have increased the financial compensation for the US veterans and their families. Furthermore, the US government has neglected to discover the impact of these herbicides on health and environmental conditions.
Tags: US military; Vietnam War; US government; government; health; birth defects; defoliants; financial compensation; disability; veterans; families; US Department of Veterans Affairs
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VA's Cover Up Exposed
A four part series that highlights how the Department of Veterans Affairs purposely tried to conceal the suicide rate of military veterans. Government emails help expose the widespread problem.
Tags: post traumatic stress; depression; psychological effects; war; battle;
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Army Blocks Disbility Paperwork
After the series the Army revised policies on how it works with the Department of Veteran' Affairs because of the previous management problems that harmed disabled veterans.
Tags: wounded soldier; disable; surgeon general; Fort Drum; Eric Schoomaker
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Disposable Heroes
The original story focused on Iraqi war veteran James Elliott, who suffered a psychotic breakdown and was stun gunned by police while taking the drug Chantix in a smoking cessation study by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The series examined the use of military veterans as guinea pigs in drug experiments conducted by the federal government and exposed numerous ethical lapses, including a system-wide failure to notify participants when the Food and Drug Administration issues new drug warnings.
Tags: Department of Veterans Affairs; veteran; drug trials; Food and Drug Administration; Soldiers for the Truth; human research studies; Pfizer; PTSD; smoking
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How The VA Abandons Our Vets: Denying care, delaying benefits, deceiving the public
The investigation uncovered unethical and criminal behavior by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' top brass. It tells the story of Sgt. Juan Jimenez, who was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq. In seeking disability benefits from the VA, Jimenez was told he had to prove his injuries came from war. Desperate after a three and a half year battle, he joined with other Iraq veterans who had been denied benefits and sued the VA.
Tags: veterans; Iraq; benefits; disability; war; medical care; lawsuit
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The Social Security backlog
A four-part, multi-article series examined the backlog of social security cases, particularly in the Portland, Ore. area. When presented with the findings, Social Security top official Commissioner Michael J. Astrue acknowledged the backlog of disability claims has gone "seriously in the wrong direction." The reporters found that most people who fight for Social Security benefits after being initially denied with their cases, but the average wait for a disability hearing was 512 days -- 669 days in the Portland office. The series highlighted that the system was particularly hard on veterans as well. Also, using internal Social Security figures, the reporters determined that the agency would pay about $9 billion in benefits to people who no longer deserved them. They later found that the real cost for the failure to review disability cases was between $10 and $11 billion.
Tags: social security; veterans' care; Department of Veteran's Affairs; disability hearings; medical benefits; Freedom of Information Act
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VA Mental Health System in Crisis
"The entry consists of an ongoing investigation of the Department of veterans Affairs and its mental health system. Each of the stories relies on exclusive access to VA data and documents obtained under FOIA that shed light on the inconsistent treatment of veterans suffering from mental health ailments."
Tags: FOIA; veterans; mental health; federal government; post-traumatic stress disorder; Timothy Bowman; health care system;