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 "social workers" ...
-
Children In Crisis
“Kentucky leads the nation in its rate of children who die from neglect or abuse”. Many people missed the warning signs of abuse and these include social workers, family members, health professionals, and day care workers. Another factor into the problem was budget cuts, which wear down a system meant to protect children.
Tags: kids; child welfare; authorities; maltreatment; violence; Health and Family Services; Child Protective Services; programs
-
Fatal Care
“At least 22 children died from 2004 to 2008 despite clear warning signs from the Bureau of Child Welfare they were at risk”. A number of reasons were to blame for the deaths of these innocent children. The reasons include: workers making these “fatal mistakes” were reassigned instead of being fired, the parents mistreating their children were never punished, and secrecy in the Bureau persisted.
Tags: Milwaukee; county; kids; preventable; social service; social workers; turmoil; caseworkers; guardians
-
Ghost Drivers
"For years, Indiana has suffered the embarrassment and dubious distinction as a "fraud Friendly" state when it comes to obtaining bogus licenses and identification cards. A new administration vowed to put a stop to it. But 13 investigates discovered the state's top agencies for prosecuting fraud weren't following through on the legal end. Investigative Reporter Sandra Chapman began tracking the case of an accused Bureau of Motor Vehicles worker accused of fraud. What she found instead was a system allowing known illegal drivers using social security numbers from decreased residents to operate free and clear of Indiana law."
Tags: identification cards; identity fraud; fake credentials; drivers licenses; driving records
-
A Girl's Life
The single 7,500-word story chronicled the life and death of Acia Johnson, a South Boston girl who seemed to be doing everything right: getting good grades in school, becoming a standout basketball player with a chance at a scholarship to go to a good high school and taking care of her younger sister. That was until her house was set ablaze last April in what authorities said was a jealous rage by her mother's lover. Acia burned to death along with her three-year-old sister in her third-floor bedroom closet. Her mother stood, safe, on the ground with the family dog. Her father was in jail. It was the last in a long list of instances of neglect recounted in the story. Anyone could have saved her life--her parents, drug addicts and sometimes violent petty criminals who never managed to get straight' neighbors who knew about the violent family fights and often didn't call police; friends who did nothing though thought it unusual that Acia was left to care for her sister while their parents were out running thr streets; social workers who had declared Acia's parents unfit in 2003 and placed her in the custody of her grandmother but who never figured out that she was still living with her mother. They didn't figure it out even though they frequently visited Acia at her mother's house, including two days before the fire. They didn't figure it out even though her mother reported Acia was living with her when she applied for housing subsidies, food stamps and cash assistance. And they didn't figure it out even though her mother's house was listed as Acia's primary residence at her middle school.
Tags: social workers; arson; child death; neglect; custody; Boston
-
The Scourge of Skid Row
In Los Angeles' Skid Row, the lives of police, firefighters, social workers and homeless people are threatened by a staph infection outbreak. Yet the country health department has done little to assist, even as L.A. firefighters and police, as well as a doctor, chaplain and employees at local homeless Missions were infected.
Tags: Staph; LAPD; LAFD; Skid Row; staph outbreak; staph infection
-
Dying For a Job
While workplace insurance boards across Canada claimed workplaces are safer, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigated workplace safety. They found that "the number of workplace deaths had increased by about 7 percent from 1993 to 2004." In addition, coroners' suggestions on making workplaces safer for workers have largely been ignored, and are "not shared from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in a manner that would help make their workplaces safer." The investigation also found that health care and social services workers were in more danger than others, "anywhere from six to 12 times more likely to file claims related to violence on the job, mainly from patients." This is higher than even the rate for police and security.
Tags: Worker's compensation; workplace safety; worker safety; labor laws; on-the-job injuries; Canadian workplaces
-
Hiding in Plain Sight: Illegal Immigration in the Carolinas
With the help of the Charlotte Observer, WCNC-TV investigates the effect of illegal immigration on the Carolinas. Reporting in Mexico is part of the study as they find: that a government database designed to help employers verify social security numbers encourages illegal workers to steal numbers, stores sell "international drivers licenses" that are worthless, a congressional candidate who took his opponent to task regarding illegal immigrants has actually benefited from illegal workers, and Spanish speaking "notarios" give legal advice they are not licensed to give, getting the immigrants in more trouble.
Tags: Illegal immigrants; undocumented workers; immigration as a political issue; social security numbers; illegal legal advice
-
The Smallest Victims
KTVU journalists set out to find out if the deaths of two California children could have been prevented by the child welfare workers assigned to protect them. The investigation uncovered that there is no accountability or transparency in the child welfare system and called for changes. KTVU had to sue to obtain information about the State Department of Social Services' "contact with children who have died or been seriously injured while under its supervision"; several months after the report aired, pressure from child advocates and the California legislature pressured the department to make that information available to the public.
Tags: child welfare; beating; death; welfare system; Alameda County Department of Social Services; California; FOIA; foster children
-
Kids in Crisis: When the State Steps In
This documentary examines the process behind court ordered forcible removal of children from their families. It covers exchanges between social workers, police, parents, children and judges and follows the real-life court intervention of an Indiana family. Cameras follow the forcible removal of children from their home in the middle of the night.
Tags: child welfare; social services; family court; police; families; children
-
Inside the UFW
This series takes a look at what the United Farm Workers have become since it was founded over 40 years ago by Cesar Chavez and others. They found that the UFW is not a union in the typical sense; it has not really been able to raise wages for workers or improve working conditions. It has become, instead, a collection of social-service organizations, some of them for profit, some non-profit, for farm workers. Family members of the UFW founders have often inherited leadership roles and sometimes the money which is donated to various social service organizations is not well accounted for.
Tags: Organized labor; farm workers; immigrant labor; Hispanics; Latinos; not for profit organizations; NGO's; Dolores Huerta; union pension plans