Elizabeth Thompson

Elizabeth Thompson reports on gender and prison health for North Carolina Health News, a nonprofit news organization in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that covers health care in the state. Thompson has covered Texas politics for The Dallas Morning News’ Washington bureau, reporting on the 2020 election and Texans in Congress. Prior to that, she was a freelance journalist and fact checker for The Raleigh News & Observer, covering North Carolina politics. As an intern for GrepBeat, the tech news website, Thompson wrote about startups and businesses in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area. This classically trained opera singer is a native of Long Island, New York, but became a Tar Heel when she studied journalism and music at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Articles

The Turin Department of Juvenile Justice. Italy’s approach to juvenile justice provided a useful contrast and source of ideas fo

I had to analyze the data but also look past it to get the story on North Carolina’s juvenile justice system

A reporter finds "the data was just a glimpse of the full picture" while covering school-based juvenile justice complaints.

Restorative justice techniques are used in other countries such as Italy as a diversion tactic.

Health Equity & Social Justice

Community & Public Health

Children & Families

Mental Health & Trauma

Restorative justice solutions for youth are growing abroad, can they become part of the mix in the U.S.

As schools have returned to in-person instruction, advocates for children say they’re starting to see an uptick in juvenile justice complaints. We look at how diversion works in other countries.

Race and Equity

Environmental Health

Mental Health

Reading disabilities are correlated with incarceration later in life. Advocates say the pandemic exacerbated the problem.

Health Equity & Social Justice

Community & Public Health

Children & Families

Mental Health & Trauma

Reading through the lines: The correlation between literacy and incarceration

Juvenile justice advocates see a disproportionate number of children with reading disabilities. The pandemic shed a light on those inequities.

Race and Equity

Environmental Health

Mental Health

When COVID closed schools, fewer kids entered jail.

Health Equity & Social Justice

Community & Public Health

Children & Families

Mental Health & Trauma

Healthcare Systems & Policy

The pandemic shines a light on just how many school-related infractions end with children in the juvenile justice system

When schools shut down at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, juvenile delinquency complaints decreased. Here’s what it means — and what it doesn’t.

Race and Equity

Environmental Health

Mental Health

School-based juvenile justice complaints decreased during the pandemic, but that's just one part of the picture. The same childr

Health Equity & Social Justice

Community & Public Health

Children & Families

Mental Health & Trauma

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Back to school: Advocates worry about pandemic’s impact on most vulnerable youth in the justice system

School-based juvenile justice complaints decreased when children were not in school during the pandemic, but what about now?

Race and Equity

Environmental Health

Mental Health

Are North Carolina schools unfairly funneling youth into the juvenile justice system?

A reporter will examine whether school-based complaints represent a real threat — or signal a child experiencing a mental health crisis.

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Elizabeth Thompson

Articles

I had to analyze the data but also look past it to get the story on North Carolina’s juvenile justice system

Restorative justice solutions for youth are growing abroad, can they become part of the mix in the U.S.

Reading through the lines: The correlation between literacy and incarceration

The pandemic shines a light on just how many school-related infractions end with children in the juvenile justice system

Back to school: Advocates worry about pandemic’s impact on most vulnerable youth in the justice system

Are North Carolina schools unfairly funneling youth into the juvenile justice system?