New Mexico’s child welfare system faces decades-long issues—kids sleeping in offices, lack of care, and systemic trauma—despite reforms aimed at protecting vulnerable foster youth.
Children & Families
Taken from school at 15, Janay Eustace turned trauma into purpose as a champion of equity in child welfare, especially for Black families.
Emily Schwing investigated Alaska’s crumbling rural schools, finding dangerous conditions, historic funding failures, and state neglect despite urgent community needs.
The school in the small village of Sleetmute is falling apart. Despite years of pleas, limited funding has arrived, leaving students in unsafe conditions.
Many rural Alaska schools lack local funding and rely on the state for repairs. Decades of neglect have led to unsafe schools and costly delays.
Rural Alaska schools face unsafe conditions, but state funds focus on student costs, not repairs. Without capital investment, education quality and safety suffer.
Paterson’s School 6 battles high absenteeism, poverty, and youth gang concerns, with community leaders calling for deeper family support and united efforts to help students succeed.
As West Virginia’s foster care system struggles to hire and retain workers amid low pay and overwhelming caseloads, it stresses foster families and keeps kids from getting the attention they need.
A decade after a federal investigation found West Virginia unnecessarily institutionalizes foster kids, our investigation has found the state’s most vulnerable kids are still being left behind.
Spotlight PA investigative reporter Ed Mahon partnered with WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR station, to produce an audio version of his child welfare coverage.