The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets 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. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
Search results for "licensing boards" ...
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Exposing Dangerous Caregivers
Kauffman's tipsheet decribes how to use unemployment-benefit claims to track caregiver misconduct; using federal labor records to track caregivers also acting as employers; and quick hit stories that can be done with this information.
Tags: misconduct; medical professionals; unlicensed doctors; physicians; hospitals; licensing boards; HIPPA
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Conceiving the Investigation
The author lists and describes websites that could lead to investigative reports. The websites listed include: municipal advisory councils; costreprotdata.com; FDA warning letters database; professional licensing boards; and government performance reporting.
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Investigating Subprime Lending and Foreclosures: HMDA Data
Thompson describes how to use the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) database in order to investigate subprime lending in your community. She explains what fields in the database will reveal subprime lending, and how to use an "update function" to count the subprime loans and apply a demographic element. The tipsheet ends with a list of helpful sources, such as the Consumer Federation of America and the State Licensing Board.
Tags: foreclosure; subprime lending; data analysis; Microsoft Access; queries
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Policing the Police
Goldman explains how law enforcement officers are regulated by an agency typically called peace officer standards and training boards, or POSTs. This agency licenses law enforcement professionals and can revoke their licenses when necessary. He provides other standards, laws and grounds for revocation, suggests topics for journalists to consider when reporting on the subject, and also gives examples of some great news stories that have addressed the performance of the state POSTs agencies.
Tags: law enforcement; POSTs; peace officer standards and training boards; corrections officers; certification of law enforcement
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Peeking Behind the White Curtain
Dolan lists and explains a number of Web sites and databases valuable to reporters covering health care or the health beat
Tags: health care; health; medical boards; physician; medical license; civil court; databases; data; Adverse Event Reports; public records; investigative reporting
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Sources and Interviews
Tips for getting reluctant or confrontational sources to talk. Includes several web-based tools as well as a list of 17 records you should always check before interviewing anyone -- from real estate records to licenses to board minutes.
Tags: documents; records; websites; sources; toolbox; sourcebook
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Investigating Health Care Professionals through the National PRactitioner Data Bank
If using the NPDP, you'll need Dolan's tipsheet. "The National Practitioner Data Bank, a federal repository for adverse actions taken against health care professiona,s is maintained by the Divsiion of Qualty Assurance of teh Deptartment of Health and Human Services. IT contains more than 260,000 reporters agains 164,000 practitioners since 1990."
Tags: doctors; malpractice; civil court records; medical cases; controlled substances; medical boards; Drug Enforcement Agency; DEA; licensing; CAR
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Investigating Health Care Professionals through the National Practitioner Data Bank
Jack Dolan provides tips on the National Practitioner Data Bank to research reports against practitioners, including dentists, nurses and physician's assistants.
Tags: National Practitioner Data Bank; health care; doctors; licenses; public files; state medical boards; Drug Enforcement Agency
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Finding out about licensed professionals
Whether you are trying to find out whether a doctor or hairdresser has been disciplined, a reporter needs to check first with the state's division of professional licensing to find out which boards apply oversight to practitioners. Ganey's tipsheet offers advice on investigating these professional boards, and insight into what information is public.
Tags: professional boards; teachers; licensing; brokers; doctors; reprimands
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Mining familiar and forgotten state records
Olsen gives examples of documents reporters usually overlook that actually are gold mines of information. For example, she recommends taking a hard look at information obtained from state professional licenses such as those for hairdressers or bartenders.
Tags: CAR; state records; databases; professional boards. licensing