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 "troubled teens" ...
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R.C.'s Boys
The story investigates the case of former NC state Senator R.C. Soles, showing that Soles sexually assulted numerous young men, and then paid them to keep their silence. The reporters found that the abuse had a profound effect on the lives of the teens, who grew into troubled adults and often turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain.
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Mount Bachelor Academy: Ever unconventional, long controversial
When attending a private school for troubled teens, no one thought they would ever have to do such a thing as performing a lap dance while wearing revealing clothes. This method was "therapy" for victims of sexual abuse. Other types of methods were used, such as "sleep deprivation, extended physical labor, verbal abuse and restricting communication between parents and children." The reason these methods could continue was the school was "catering to the wealthy parents who felt they had nothing to lose and students were afraid to reveal the truth."
Tags: FOIA; private school; troubled; teens; students; education; mistreatment; abuse; wealth
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"Running in the Shadows"
Ian Urbina investigates the issue of homeless youth. Since the economy has worsened, more teens are abandoning their often troubled homes to live on the street. Urbina also looks at how many homeless teens are forced to turn to prostitution as a means of survival.
Tags: homeless; youth; prostitution; group homes; teenage prostitution; runaways; sex trafficking
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Von Maur Shootings
In December 2007, a young man killed eight people then himself with an assault rifle at the Von Maur department store in Omaha. It was the largest mass murder in state history, a story that made national news. But when other media moved onto other stories, a team of World-Herald reporters spent much of 2008 digging into the issues surrounding such an astonishing act of violence. Some of their findings include: emergency responders were delayed getting to victims due to miscommunications by 911 dispatchers, a troubling suicide spike, and the depth of the gunman's psychological problems.
Tags: Von Maur murders; teen suicide; massacre; gunman; suicide rate; mental health problems; psychiatric records; treatment centers; shooter
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Rough Love
Tranquility Bay, a "behavior modification school" in Jamaica, is a boarding school where parents send their troubled teenagers. But what parents get for their $40,000 yearly tuition is often overly harsh discipline that results in the children being injured and abused. The reported conditions include "no running water, beatings by staff, and being forced to lie in silence, face-down on the floor for hours at a time - over a period of several months." At least six other schools which like Tranquility Bay are affiliated with the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools "have been raided and/or closed during the past decade, following allegations of abuse or questionable practices."
Tags: Tranquility Bay; boarding schools; at-risk youths; troubled teens; child abuse; inmate abuse; World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
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Young and In Trouble: Different Paths for Punishment (part 1) and The Challenge of Rehabilitation (part 2)
This investigation exposed "a huge racial imbalance between the number of white and black youths sent to adult prison in the Bay area, statewide and nationally." The review focused on teens ages 13-17 sentenced to adult prison. Most of the youths sent to adult prison were black; white juvenile delinquents were more likely to be sentenced to house arrest or be put on probation. These articles look at possible hidden causes for the disparity, like the fact that police spend more time in black neighborhoods so are more likely to catch black criminals than white ones. The article also explores the idea that the records don't reflect racism; rather, the situation shows how poor delinquents are more likely to end up in adult prison. The article discusses how being in adult prison affects kids differently than being in a youth-oriented rehabilitation program.
Tags: prison; jail; incarceration; juvenile delinquents; teen court; YES; racial discrimination
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The Tragic Secrets of Crater School
This story is about how State of Oregon officials lacked the resources to adequately check and regulate outdoor schools and programs for at-risk youth. In this example, someone who had promised never to run such a program again in California, after a tragic incident there, was able to come to Oregon and run such a program in this state.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT troubled teens; Crater Lake School; boarding school; assaults; case workers; marijuana; camp; toxicology report; Chiloquin; Klamath County sheriff
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Town Tries to Police the Parents
"Like many other communities, St. Clair Shores, Mich., responded to increasing teen crime by passing a 'parental-responsibility' ordinance. But the first prosecution is raising troubling questions." The Times delves into the case of a father charged with abdicating his parental responsibility. His teenage son was smoking dope and drinking in the house, stealing from neighbors and even the local church. However, a closer look revealed a mild-mannered father who had lost control of his son. Once the son, who at 6' tall towered over his father, began using drugs, he gradually became more violent to the point where he essentially took control of the household. His parents lived in fear of their son, and the father even had to call the police after one incident where the boy gouged his eyes and threatened him with a golf club. Given such circumstances, the article examines whether the father truly deserved punishment by the city for being an irresponsible parent, and looks at the larger issue of whether such 'parental ordinances' can really work at all.
Tags: parent; parental responsibility; ordinances; morality; St. Clair Shores; prosecution; violence
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Youth at Risk
The Great Falls Tribune's four-month, 13-part series of stories examines "the increasing number of teenagers with emotional or mental disorders, the reasons for their illnesses, and ways to make life less troubling for our teens."
Tags: teenagers; mental disorders; mental health care; troubled teens; Ritalin; hyperactivity; family dysfunction; Great Falls Juvenile Detention Center; child abuse
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He says they beat him up. They say he swung first. She says 'We're all in this together.'
Inquirer Magazine reports on a party that has divided a community. A group of high school students got together to celebrate a friend's birthday. Her parents checked in at 8:30 and at 10:30, everything was fine. 'The next call we got-around midnight- was from my nephew. 'Come home. There's trouble,' he said.' Teenagers at the party that night say that Bill Murphy, whose daughter was attending the party, came to the house to get her. However, when the teens told him she had already left for the evening, Murphy got upset , dialed 911 and then "took a swing" at a boy. On the other hand, Bill Murphy says that the teens were disrespectful and drinking alcohol, something he didn't want his daughter a part of. After looking for his daughter, Murphy dialed 911 to report the teens. It was then, he says when they told him "it was time for him to go" and started beating on him.. The dispute that evening has left police with unanswered questions and has split families on who and what to believe.
Tags: teenagers; alcohol. parenting; parties; chaperones; police