The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "child abuse examiner" ...
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Failure to Protect
The two-day series “A Failure to Protect” examined what went wrong in the case of a Central Minnesota family that grew to 26 through a mix of biological, adopted and foster children, but eventually was torn apart by sexual abuse charges. Reporters David Unze and Kirsti Marohn uncovered how Minnesota’s child protection system allows either counties or nonprofits to license foster homes with little oversight.
Tags: Adoption; foster home; sexual abuse
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Dateline NBC: Children for Sale
The documentary followed up on a previous investigation into the child sex trade in Cambodia. Five years later, journalists examined the impact their investigation had had on the trade as a whole and in the lives of four girls who had been rescued in an undercover operation highlighted in the original report.
Tags: sex trade; slavery; Cambodia; human rights; child abuse; brothel; undercover
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Target 12 Child Watch: Uncovering Daycare Violations
WPRI-TV investigates reported incidents where young children had been "wandering away from daycare centers" and "children being left sleeping on school buses." They looked into the frequency of these incidents to examine how safe daycare centers are, and inform parents on how to find out more about their child's daycare center. They uncovered cases of abuse and neglect, with unsupervised children finding themselves in harm's way. They also found that 21 of the 59 daycare centers they examined "were in violation of staff to child ratios," 18 of 59 "violated hand-washing procedures," and 15 "had fire safety issues."
Tags: Child care; daycare; unsupervised children; child endangerment; child neglect
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Little Court of Horrors
This investigation examined how well juvenile courts handle child protection matters and how the children, whose plight has just recently become a matter of public record, are faring. The investigation found that the reform intended to strengthen the state's child protection system has dramatically increased the rate at which children are being taken from their parents ---permanently. The law was intended to fast-track cases, but it does not allow the time or provide the services families need to address the matters that landed them in court to begin with.
Tags: child abuse; child court; foster care; sunshine law; open records; social services
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Generation Meth
"Generation Meth tackled the skyrocketing use of meth among Utah women and exposed the state's inadequate response to this epidemic...The series examined how meth addiction burdens Utah's courts, prisons, police agencies and child welfare systems.
Tags: drug use; narcotics; methamphetamine; child welfare; child abuse; health and human services
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Penned In
This story is about the conviction and 40-year sentence of John Michael Harvey for the rape of a four-year old girl. Harvey protests his innocence, and so does the jury foreman, the judge in his trial, appellate attorneys, investigators, and even the findings of a lie detector. Even the victim says he didn't do it, and that her family members and the prosecutor coached her into saying Harvey did it. Since Harvey's conviction, the victim and her mother have signed affidavits professing Harvey's innocence. The trial judge wrote a letter supporting Harvey's parole, and the jury foremen says he made a mistake. He's going to testify on Harvey's behalf at the appeal.
Tags: rape; child abuse examiner; prosecutor; forensic examination techniques; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; policy on sex offender treatment; parole division policies on sex offenders; sex offenders; wrongful conviction; child molester; wrongful conviction; appeal
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Pedophilia
This story examines pedophilia and looks at various causes and methods of treatment.
Tags: pedophilia; child molestation; child sexual abuse; catholic church; psychiatric treatment
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A Child Removed
In this extensive three-day series, Jeff Lehr of the Joplin Globe examined the Missouri Division of Family Services, and found a system riddled with problems -- from mothers fighting to get their children back after baseless accusations to children being removed from their parents only to be placed in dangerous and abusive foster care where they were injured or killed. The Globe found that Jasper County had one of the highest rates of removal of children from their homes by the state than any other county in Missouri, while at the same time it was more difficult for parents to reunite with their children. Innocent parents caught in the gears of DFS could spend years trying to clear their names and regain custody of their children. The series takes a hard look at DFS, the courts, and those who are supposedly responsible for removing children from the home. Statistics and tables, as well as the personal stories of people affected, potential reforms to Missouri's laws, and the problem of a "revolving door" of underpaid, under-trained social workers are discussed in detail.
Tags: DFS; division of family services; family court; children; foster care; social work; social workers; death; parents; law
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Unhappy Endings
In this extensive four-part series, the Union-Tribune examines the role of divorce courts and those involved with them. The series takes a look at everyone from lawyers to judges to family counselors, and reveals how they are either helping or hindering those going through the divorce process. The various ways in which parting couples can separate -- whether peacefully, contentiously, or in some cases, abusively -- is also examined, and the role the courts play in pushing couples toward those stances also comes into play. Issues of child custody and child support are also discussed, as are issues about the very nature of divorce courts themselves -- from the viewpoints of those who enter them, run them, and profit from them.
Tags: divorce; relationship; relationships; separation; children; custody; alimony; family court; mother; father; restraining order; child support; adultery; lawyers; judges; visitation
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Youth at Risk
The Great Falls Tribune's four-month, 13-part series of stories examines "the increasing number of teenagers with emotional or mental disorders, the reasons for their illnesses, and ways to make life less troubling for our teens."
Tags: teenagers; mental disorders; mental health care; troubled teens; Ritalin; hyperactivity; family dysfunction; Great Falls Juvenile Detention Center; child abuse