Reporter Tom Corwin of The Augusta Chronicle was shocked to learn of 82 unexpected deaths in 2013 among disabled patients receiving care in community placements in Georgia. The discovery launched him on an extended data-driven investigation. Here he shares lessons from the series.

In Georgia, parents of developmentally disabled children fear what might happen should the state go ahead with plans to put more patients in community placements. In 2014, a total of 498 patients died in community care, making the total nearly 1,000 deaths in two years.

Cornelius James Evans had just turned 18 when he died, before his mother could establish formal legal guardianship, and the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is now using that to deny her a copy of its investigation into his death.