Teri Sforza is one of the lead reporters on the Orange County Register/SCNG probe of fraud, abuse and death in the Southern California addiction treatment industry. Our "Rehab Riviera" coverage won first place for investigative reporting from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, first place for projects reporting from Best of the West and was a finalist for the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation's print award. She birthed the Watchdog column for The Orange County Register in 2008, aiming to keep a critical (but good-humored) eye on governments and nonprofits, large and small. It won first place for public service reporting from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 2010. She also contributed to the OCR's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of fertility fraud at UC Irvine, covered what was then the largest municipal bankruptcy in America‘s history, and is the author of "The Strangest Song," the first book to tell the story of a genetic condition called Williams syndrome and the extraordinary musicality of many of the people who have it. She earned her M.F.A. from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, and enjoys making documentaries, including the OCR's first: "The Boy Monk," a story that was also told as a series in print. She is honored and delighted to be working with the fine folks at USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.

Articles

When the "crack baby epidemic" of the 1980s and '90s was raging, many experts offered stark, long-term forecasts. While those were overblown, there still is cause for concern.

This series was produced with the support of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Impact Fund.