From Colleen Kimmett for In These Times, an investigation of post-Katrina New Orleans schools. Under new management, most New Orleans public schools are now charter schools. The schools operated by the state-run Recovery School District represent the first all-charter district in the nation. The results so far? Graduation rates are up. Test scores are up. But discipline is strict, leading ...
From Elizabeth Shogren for the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and Al Jazeera America: when it comes to disaster relief, FEMA leaves communities vulnerable to the greater disasters to come due to climate change. Its policies are rooted in the outdated assumption that the climate of tomorrow will resemble the climate of yesterday. For example, it routinely pays to replace ...
From Rick Cohen, reporting for Nonprofit Quarterly, an investigation of the conflict of interest involving bank trustees – who both serve on charitable foundation boards and charge the foundations large, sometimes excessive, fees to manage their investments, assets, and even operations. [Reporting sponsored by The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.] ...
From Alisa Roth for Life of the Law: There are some places where defendants have no right to legal representation. Prison, for example. [Reporting sponsored by The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.] Photo credit: Nancy Mullane ...
From Nicole Pasulka for BuzzFeed, the fight for respect for transgender people – in jail. [Reporting sponsored by The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.] ...
From Beth Cortez-Neavel for The Texas Observer, and the radio show Texas Standard, an investigation of the “highly dysfunctional” and severely underfunded mental health services that foster children are forced to rely upon in Texas. Many who suffered childhood traumas receive inadequate treatment, with consequences that follow them through life. [Sponsored by The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.] Photo credit: ...
From the team at Oakland Local, a comprehensive look at police accountability, using public records including civil court filings and judgments. The “Oakland Police Beat” database allows public access to original documents and data on wrongful deaths and other police misconduct. Photo credit: Elijah Nouvelage [Reporting sponsored by The Green Park Foundation.] ...
From Nancy West, for VTDigger, the story of how convictions are being overturned nationwide – sometimes after decades of imprisonment – because prosecutors failed to tell defendants that police officers testifying against them had a history of dishonesty or excessive force buried in confidential personnel files. There’s no way to know how many convicts are unaware they were denied their constitutional right to all favorable, material evidence against them. [Reporting ...
Santiago Villa, for Confidencial Magazine, investigates and connects the dots between the developer of the Nicaragua Canal and the Chinese military. [Reporting sponsored by The Reva and David Logan Foundation.] ...
From Amy Bracken for Al Jazeera America, part one of an investigation of the working conditions for Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Conditions were supposed to improve under a trade deal between the U.S., the Dominican Republic, and five Central American countries. But Bracken documents a harsh life for Haitians working on the sugar plantations including excessive hours and unsanitary ...