California's most vulnerable not receiving the protection they deserve

"As part of an ongoing investigation, California Watch has detailed how California's state-run board-and-care institutions' internal police force, created by the state to protect the vulnerable residents at these state homes, often fails to conduct basic police work when patients are abused and harmed."

"In case after case, detectives and officers have delayed interviews with witnesses or suspects – if they have conducted interviews at all. The force also has waited too long to collect evidence or secure crime scenes and has been accused of going easy on co-workers who care for the disabled."

"A Herald-Leader analysis of 41 child fatalities in 2009 and 2010 found at least six cases where the Cabinet for Health and Family Services did not do an internal review even though there were previous reports involving the family before the child died."

"The reviews are supposed to examine the cabinet's actions in a case to see if there were missteps, and to identify needed improvements and training that could prevent future deaths."

In a three-part series The Bakersfield Californian examines Kern County, California's high number of foreign-trained doctors and the impact it has on patient care.

Using the training she learned at an IRE Boot Camp, Christine Bedell, along with her colleague Kellie Schmitt, were able to make their own database to look at how many foreign-trained doctors were board-certified and how that effects their community.

"A Palm Beach Post investigation has found that a CDC officer had reported a tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville, Fla., one of the worst his group had seen in 20 years, but the report went unseen by key decision makers around the state."

"The outbreak, linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, would require concerted action to stop. However, instead of keeping a hospital that has been treating TB for 60 years open, an order went out that the hospital must be closed six months ahead of schedule."

"Wisconsin's patchwork system of regulating mobile home communities often forces communities such as Plymouth to act alone when a park owner won't make repairs to houses with malfunctioning plumbing, broken heating systems and mold-covered walls, a Gannett Wisconsin Media investigation has found."

"Even though the state has the authority to respond to residents' complaints and revoke park owners' licenses, responsibility for oversight is spread between two agencies. The results can be long delays in responding, frustration for residents whose complaints bounce around in state bureaucracy and unchecked health risks for tenants, many of whom are elderly and poor."

In a three-part series, the Star Tribune has found that a billion-dollar federal tutoring program is rife with fraud and mismanagement.

The program, officially known as Supplemental Educational Services, is one of the lesser known and little scrutinized portions of No Child Left Behind. The investigation found that it has been lightly regulated by the feds and most states, which has allowed predatory and incompetent vendors to victimize the poorest students at America’s worst schools.

Click here to read part two of the story and here to read part three.

An Arizona Star investigation has found that "one in three Arizona schools last year had kindergarten classes with vaccination rates so low children were left vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks such as measles, mumps or pertussis."

It was discovered that "the worst offenders, by far, are charter and private schools, some with vaccination rates as low as 50 percent in Pima County and under 30 percent in Maricopa County. Rates need to be 80 percent to 95 percent, depending on the disease, to prevent the spread of infection."

"Earlier this month, the U.S. Justice Department announced a first-of-its kind investigation into how rape cases are handled by the University of Montana and its campus police, along with the Missoula Police Department and the Missoula County Attorney's Office because of a series of investigations by the Missoulian."

"Since December, the paper has been reporting about UM's handling of alleged rapes involving students - including allegations of gang rapes by members of its football team. The Missoulian and the Wall Street Journal have since filed a joint FOIA request on the topic."

Duff Wilson and Janet Roberts, for Reuters, report on "how food and beverage companies have dominated policymaking in Washington by doubling their lobbying expenditures during the past three years and defeating government proposals aimed at changing the nation’s diet."

Reuters Investigates TV also produced a video about "how the food industry fought back when the White House sought healthier school lunches and Congress directed federal agencies to set nutrition standards."