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 "welfare system" ...
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Failed to Death: Protecting Colorado’s Children
In a joint investigation with the Denver Post, 9NEWS uncovered 72 of the 175 Colorado children who have died of child abuse over the past 5 years were known to the agency that is supposed to keep them safe--human services. The series revealed how those children were “Failed to Death” by each and every person they had ever known. Reporters fought for access to public documents, police reports, and court records, along with convincing key stakeholders to allow them unprecedented access to every step of the child welfare process. The reporters uncovered a system where accountability and transparency is nearly non-existent and caseworkers find it nearly impossible to assess which children will live and which will not. Since the series first aired, the Colorado Legislature has put a priority on fixing the child welfare system.
Tags: child welfare; FOIA
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Probate Court: A Troubled System
The investigation exposed a corrupt system within Arizona's probate courts that permitted lawyers and for-profit fiduciary businesses to take advantage of the welfare of vulnerable adults. The Arizona Republic found that in many cases, lawyers appointed to protect the welfare of incapacitated adults were actually paying themselves enormous fees out of their assets of these individuals. Judges, state regulators, and social service agencies violated court orders, disregarded procedure, and failed to keep this from happening.
Tags: probate courts; legal system; court corruption; elderly; welfare
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"Children Failed, Children Forsaken"
The deaths of 13 children could have been prevented, says the Colorado Department of Human Services. The child welfare system in Colorado is "fraught with incompetence" and mismanagement. Caseworkers are improperly trained, leaving the children "in peril." As of late 2009, new hires and improved caseworker training had not been enforced leaving the situation in the same poor state as it has been for years.
Tags: Colorado Department of Human Services; Denver Department of Human Services; Bill Ritter; child welfare system
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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
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Failing the Children: Deadly Mistakes
"In May 2007, authorities found 7-year old Chandler Grafner starved to death in a closet. He showed signs of long-term abuse. His guardians, Jon Phillips and Sarah Berry, were convicted of murder. In covering the story, KMGH-TV investigative reporter John Ferrugia attempted to determine the extent of the the Denver Department of Human Services' involvement with the family... Ferrugia and the KMGH investigative team consistently obtained internal documents to expose a system fraught with incompetence, lack of oversight, poor management and ineffective training... In short, a system that left children at risk."
Tags: Department of Human Services; child welfare; child protective services; child abuse; neglect
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Broken Families, Broken Court
The series exposed systemic problems in the operation of California Juvenile Dependency Courts, the nation's largest court system overseeing children in foster care.
Tags: child welfare; California Juvenile Dependency Courts; foster care; court; juvenile; parent; children; reunification
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Dr. Brain DDS
"For decades low-income children complained to police that a local dentist criminally assaulted them...The State of Washington paid the dentist millions of tax-dollars, while encouraging families on welfare to visit his office. KIRO Team 7 Investigators not only uncovered never-before released court files, but also exposed a system that rewards disciplined dentists."
Tags: dentist; health care; assault; children; state government; low income; court cases; police;
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No Place for a Child
Thanks to a ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court, MSNBC and Calamari Productions "gain legal access to go where cameras are forbidden to go and track five children through their painful ordeal" in America's child welfare system. The goal was to examine why some children are placed in relative care and others are sent to foster care, and continue to compile research as the Indiana Department of Child Services pushes for legislators to help these children.
Tags: Cild welfare; foster care; relative care; Indiana Supreme Court; Indiana Department of Child Services
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Bury Your Mistakes
In 2003, "a string of blunders by Philadelphia's child welfare system were blamed for failing to prevent the torture-murder of a toddler." In 2006, the Inquirer reported that "young children are still regularly abused to death under the supervision of the Department of Human Services." The department had failed to act on recommendations it had solicited after the 2003 incident, and "at least 25 children have died of abuse or neglect after their families had come to the attention of DHS, including 10 in 2005." Yet the reviews of these cases are secret, and as one expert said, this allows child welfare officials to "Bury Their Mistakes." Three cases were looked at for the Inquirer's investigation: two-year-old Alayiah Turmen, "pummled to death after she interrupted a video game," 11-week-old Marrieon Currie, "who was doused in hot water and thrown down stairs," and 2-year-old Bryanna Redmond, "who died froma punch that split her spine."
Tags: Department of Human Services; Alayiah Turman; Bryanna Redmond; Marrieon Currie; child abuse; child murder; child endangerment
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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