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 "Justice for Children" ...
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Broken Shield
Decades ago, California created a special police force to patrol exclusively at its five state developmental centers – taxpayer-funded institutions where patients with severe autism and cerebral palsy have been beaten, tortured and raped by staff members. But California Watch found that this state force, the Office of Protective Services, does an abysmal job bringing perpetrators to justice. Reporter Ryan Gabrielson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, exposed the depths of the abuse inside these developmental centers while showing how sworn officers and detectives wait too long to start investigations, fail to collect evidence and ignore key witnesses – leading to an alarming inability to solve crimes inflicted upon some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Dozens of women were sexually assaulted inside state centers, but police investigators didn’t order “rape kits” to collect evidence, a standard law enforcement tool. Police waited so long to investigate one sexual assault that the staff janitor accused of rape fled the country, leaving behind a pregnant patient incapable of caring for a child. The police force’s inaction also allowed abusive caregivers to continue molesting patients – even after the department had evidence that could have stopped future assaults. Many of the victims chronicled by California Watch are so disabled they cannot utter a word. Gabrielson gave them a resounding voice. Our Broken Shield series prompted far-reaching change, including a criminal investigation, staff retraining and new laws – all intended to bring greater safeguards and accountability.
Tags: California; police; autism; cerebral palsy; abuse; children
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The Mysterious Death of Janie Ward
This hour-long report is a result of a five-year investigation into the death of a 16-year-old girl 20 years ago in a small town in the Ozarks. It's about two daughters -- one wealthy and popular (a cheerleader and beauty queen); the other poor and self-conscious. It's about two fathers -- one a powerful judge who allegedly shielded his daughter from the law he's sworn to uphold; the other a bail bondsman who is trying to avenge his daughter's death. And it's about one family's fight for justice against what they believe is a corrupt judicial system that closed ranks around the powerful judge to cover-up a murder. When 16-year-old Jamie Ward fell off a 9-inch porch in the woods near Marshall, Ark., on September 9, 1989, her parents refused to blieve that the fall had killed their healthy teenager. Instead, they began to suspect to suspect she was murdered by the judge's daughter. After years of demanding an investigation into her death, an independent medical examiner associated with Parents for Murdered Children exhumed Janie's body a second time for an extremely rare third autopsy. Because the case was 20 years old, most of the files were not digital; rather, the investigation focused on old-fashioned reporting: finding and interviewing eyewitnesses (all of whom had not been reinterviewed since the original investigation); analyzing inconsistencies in the witness statements, double-checking the forensics with independent experts.
Tags: autopsy; unsolved death; forensic science; criminal justice system; reopened cases; Arkansas
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The Last Ghost of War
"Over three decades after the Vietnam War, deadly dioxin has worked its way into the food chain and, some argue, the gene pool, with tragic results." This documentary details several plaintiffs in a class action suit, who are "seeking justice and compensation for medical care from U.S. chemical companies."
Tags: disabled children; Agent Orange; chemical weapons; dioxin; Saigon
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Children for Sale
Dateline teams up with the International Justice Mission, a human rights group, to investigate the business of selling children for sex. They focus on Cambodia where many sexual predators from around the world come to buy young children. Victims are interviewed as well as adult exploiters of children and various political figures comment on the problem.
Tags: Child sex trade; human trafficking; international human rights; US Aid
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Internet predators
This KCTV investigation probed the claims of the group Perverted Justice, which exposes men who use the Internet to prey on children. A member of Perverted Justice would pose as a minor in an Internet chat room and wait for an adult man to approach the "minor" about sex. The "minor" would then arrange to meet the man at a home rented by KCTV. After four days, 30 men made appointments to meet the "minor" for sex. Sixteen came to the door and were confronted by the news crew. The investigation showed how prevalent and serious the problem of Internet predators is.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Internet predators; sex crimes; cybercrime; sexual predators
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The Color of Justice
As some U.S cities make progress in lowering the number of blacks in juvenile detention, Columbia's numbers rise. The Trib takes an in-depth look at how the number of arrests of black kids has been on a steady rise in this university town that prides itself on individual freedoms and civil rights. The story narrates multiple incidents where black children have been harshly taken into custody without being given a chance to be heard.
Tags: Fenna Isaacson; Kenny Harris-Jones; Almeta Crayton; Columbia Police Department; NAACP; W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice; Judge Patricia Clark; King County
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Deadly Triangle
Elsa Newman accused her husband Arlen Slobodow of abusing their two sons. The couple divorced and a custody battle ensued. At one point, a close friend of Newman attempted to murder Slobodow. The article examines the case and highlights ambiguity about the relationship between Newman and her friend as well as the alleged abuse.
Tags: divorce; custody battle; murder; spousal abuse; Justice for Children; borderline personality disorder; Elizabeth Morgan; sexual abuse
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Falling through the cracks
Philadelphia reports that "when an intrepid do-gooder wanders into the labyrinth that is Philadelphia family Court, she learns more about the system -- and the kids it handles -- than she bargained for."
Tags: Department of Human Services; lawyers; poverty; troubled children; juvenile delinquents; justice
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Giving up their kids
The Law Journal reports on a custody crisis for mentally ill children. The story reveals that "inpatient treatment for mentally ill children is out of reach for all but the richest families and the very poorest families who are covered by Medicaid. Many families in the middle, uninsured or underinsured, are pressured to relinquish custody to the states because the states, which offer the care, can then turn around and get reimbursed by the federal government."
Tags: health care; parents; child welfare system; justice; hospitals; special education; schools
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A case for innocence
Miami Herald investigates a possible wrongful conviction dating back to 1993. The series reveal that Timothy Brown, a mentally ill teenager convicted for the murder of a police officer, might have been wrongly imprisoned. The reporters find evidence that his confession appears to have been coerced, and expose a pattern of false confessions in Broward County, Fla. Part of the series also reports on the capture of another suspect, Andrew Johnson, who has confessed to the murder on tape. To obtain some of the documents needed for the investigation, the newspaper initiated a public-records lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
Tags: crime; law enforcement; justice; courts; police; FOIA; mental health; children; Keith King