Local Reporting Network Archive
An Exodus Unlike Any Other: Why Half the People in This Community Moved Away After Hurricane Katrina
After Hurricane Katrina devastated St. Bernard Parish, many residents didn’t receive enough money from the state to rebuild. Nearly half made the difficult decision to start over somewhere else.
The Federal Program to Rebuild After Hurricane Katrina Shortchanged the Poor. New Data Proves It.
For years, low-income residents of New Orleans have said the state’s Road Home program paid them less to rebuild their homes compared to wealthier residents. They were right.
The Balancing Act of Reporting on Vulnerable Kids While Protecting Their Privacy
Journalists are often expected to identify their sources, but reporting on children presents a number of dilemmas, particularly when issues of mental health are involved.
Child Welfare Experts Say New Mexico Can’t Put Kids in Homeless Shelters Just Because It Lacks Other Beds
An experts’ report found that New Mexico’s child welfare system has housed foster kids in homeless shelters and other inappropriate settings, corroborating an investigation by ProPublica and Searchlight New Mexico.
How Title Lending Works
Title lenders in the U.S. often use predatory practices to trap customers in high-interest loans, ProPublica recently reported. This guide will help you understand how title lending works and what your options are if you’re stuck in a contract.
“Kids Seem to Be a Paycheck”: How a Billion-Dollar Corporation Exploits Washington’s Special Education System
Universal Health Services collected more than $38 million in tax dollars for special education services that families and former teachers say it largely didn’t provide.
ProPublica Is Seeking New Applicants for Our Local Reporting Network
We will partner with three more newsrooms on local accountability projects for a year starting in April 2023. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
At Washington State Special Education Schools, Years of Abuse Complaints and Lack of Academics
Northwest SOIL promised to help students with serious disabilities. But when school districts urged action, the state let the private school stay open and receive millions in tax dollars.
The Military Pledged to Remove Unexploded Bombs From This Island. Native Hawaiians Are Still Waiting.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the remediation effort, has been plagued by shoddy work and multiple regulatory disputes, according to an investigation by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and ProPublica.
“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going to Go”: HUD Displaces Even More Residents in This Small City
HUD already closed four public housing complexes in the Cairo, Ill., area. Now the federal agency is set to demolish a high-rise, gutting the city of some of its last affordable housing.
The U.S. Promised Tribes They Would Always Have Fish, but the Fish They Have Pose Toxic Risks
For decades, the U.S. government has failed to test for chemicals and metals in fish. So, we did. What we found was alarming for tribes.
What the Disability Community Told Us About Sheltered Workshops
Reporter Madison Hopkins tells us how she learned the context behind what she was hearing from Missouri’s disabled workers and their families.
Complaint Filed Against Mississippi Judge for Failing to Hand Over Search Warrants to Clerk
The judge has signed a number of no-knock search warrants that have been challenged in court, but they weren’t on file at the clerk’s office.
Michigan’s Largest Utility Wants a Rate Hike as It Disconnects a High Number of Customers for Nonpayment
DTE Energy has cut off power to customers more times in 2022 than in any nine-month period since the state began tracking shut-offs.
Public Schools Are NYC’s Main Youth Mental Health System. Where Kids Land Often Depends on What Their Parents Can Pay.
Most kids labeled as having an “emotional disability” and shunted into public special education schools are Black or Latino, and low income — while wealthier families more often access a taxpayer-funded free private education.
In Missouri’s Sheltered Workshops, Disabled Workers Make Low Wages For Years
Sheltered workshops in Missouri pay disabled workers very low wages. They rarely help workers move on to higher-paying jobs.
A Florida Fund for Injured Kids Raided Medicaid. Now It’s Repaying $51 Million.
“The Medicaid program provides a safety net for our most vulnerable populations that do not have access to traditional healthcare coverage,” U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez said. “The misuse of Medicaid funds will not be tolerated.”
Missouri Allows Some Disabled Workers to Earn Less Than $1 an Hour. The State Says It’s Fine If That Never Changes.
Sheltered workshops are meant to employ disabled adults as they prepare to enter the regular workforce. In Missouri, these workers rarely graduate to higher-paying jobs.
How Title Lenders Trap Poor Americans in Debt With Triple-Digit Interest Rates
For some Georgia residents, title pawn contracts offer a quick way to obtain desperately needed cash. But poor regulation of a confusing system traps many borrowers in high-interest debt they can’t pay off.
Report Finds “Code of Silence” at Mental Health Facility Where Staff Abused and Neglected Patients
A newly released report from an agency watchdog echoes reporting published earlier this year that revealed widespread collusion to cover up misconduct at the Illinois facility.
