Local Reporting Network Archive
Maine Will Soon Hire Its First Five Public Defenders. Most of the State Remains Without Them.
The only state in the country with no public defenders will still need an estimated $51 million to provide the service to indigent defendants in all 16 of Maine’s counties. It’s “not a solution, it’s a patch,” says the agency’s director.
What We Lose When We Conflate Child “Abuse” and “Neglect”
Growing up in Southern Illinois, I knew many children whose basic needs went unmet. Reporting here decades later, I began to wonder why the system wasn’t doing more to help their families.
The State Took His Kids Three Times. And Three Times It Gave Them Back.
In Southern Illinois, many families suspected of neglect cycle through the child welfare system. Too often they don’t get the help they need.
Conditions at Mississippi’s Most Notorious Prison Violate the Constitution, DOJ Says
“The problems at Parchman are severe, systemic, and exacerbated by serious deficiencies in staffing and supervision,” the report said.
Colorado HOA Foreclosure Reform Legislation Moves Forward
The bipartisan measure would limit homeowners associations’ powers to file foreclosure cases based on fines for community-rule violations, capping such penalties and increasing due process for homeowners.
Detroit City Council Calls on Michigan’s Largest Utility to Pause Shut-offs, Explain Its High Electricity Rates
The council resolution follows revelations by Outlier Media and ProPublica on the high number of DTE customers whose accounts were disconnected during the pandemic.
San Francisco Rations Housing by Scoring Homeless People’s Trauma. By Design, Most Fail to Qualify.
A process called coordinated entry, used by cities across the country, is meant to match homeless people with housing. In San Francisco’s version, the system could be making it harder for some populations to get indoors.
New York Increases Funding of Mental Health Care for Kids, Including Cash Governor Says Will Reopen Hospital Beds
The additional millions are intended to help pay for a wide range of programs, including residential treatment. Gov. Kathy Hochul claims it addresses the bed shortage that has left young people in mental health crisis waiting months for admission.
They Faced Foreclosure Not From Their Mortgage Lender, but From Their HOA
While most homeowners associations refrain from the “last resort” of foreclosing on residents, some Colorado communities have moved time and again to take members’ homes.
New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims
Plaintiffs allege the state’s Medicaid program has caused young people with serious mental health conditions to suffer unnecessarily, ending up in hospitals and residential treatment programs because they can’t access vital services.
Cuomo Set Out to “Transform” Mental Health Care for Kids. Now They Can’t Get Treatment.
New York cut nearly a third of state-run psychiatric hospital beds for children, pledging to reinvest the funds in outpatient measures. There’s no evidence it worked.
Lights Out: Profitable Utility Company Shut Off Electricity to Homes Hundreds of Thousands of Times
Three months into the pandemic, Michigan’s largest power company, DTE Energy, began ramping up power shut-offs for customers behind on their bills. A regulatory system built to prioritize investors, not affordability, let it happen.
What to Do If Your Electricity Is Shut Off in Michigan
During the pandemic, Michigan’s largest utility provider shut off power to people behind on their bills hundreds of thousands of times. Here’s what to know about your rights when it comes to energy companies, and what to do if they’ve been violated.
