1. Provide the title of your story or series and the names of the journalists involved.
"Broken Hearths: How the Economy is Endangering the Health of Our Families" by Emily Bazar, Senior Writer, California HealthCare Foundation Center for Health Reporting; Julie Lynem, Staff Writer, The Tribune News, San Luis Obispo, California
2. List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Sept. 17-19, 2010 in San Luis Obispo Tribune.
3. Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Even in idyllic San Luis Obispo County, on California's Central Coast, the economic crisis has hit families hard, and children especially hard. As families become unmoored, their kids act up in school and at home, self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, and suffer mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, institutions that serve families — schools, county agencies, churches and nonprofits — are grappling with budget cuts and unprecedented demand. This is what an 11-week partnership between the Center and the San Luis Obispo Tribune News uncovered. We found beleaguered school officials pondering the staggering increase in students "doubling up" — a term used to describe children without a home address who are forced to move in with relatives or neighbors. As one nonprofit agency staff member put it, "What is normal? Normal for (kids) is getting home and having three different families in the living room or bedroom. Where do they do their homework? In the kitchen? Where?" We listened to county mental health officials decry their inability to cope with the surging need. "I've had parents say, ‘My child has to commit a crime to get services'," said one. All across the county, we found what had gone unspoken — that this seemingly prosperous area was seeing middle and working-class kids placed in harm's way by the ugly grip of the economic downturn. We told the story through charts, graphs and statistics, but mainly through the faces and voices of families and kids, and through the voices of those trying to help. All of those voices were compelling, compassionate and urgent, and told a story that surprised — even shocked — many of the paper's readers.
4. Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
We collected data from school districts on homeless children counts, on alcohol and drug-related incidents, on violence. We looked at county data on cases of general neglect of children, referrals for pediatric counseling and psychiatric evaluations. We examined food bank numbers and church family counseling numbers.
5. Explain types of human sources used.
In all, two reporters interviewed more than 200 people, including children, parents, government and health officials and staff, public and private education officials, pre-school staff, domestic violence and law enforcement experts, homeless advocates, job search specialists, church officials, and a bevy of advocacy representatives and nonprofit staff. Three Tribune photographers shot more than two dozen assignments for the series, resulting in some terrific photo galleries.
6. Results (if any).
A very large and lively online discussion of the issues and what can be done about the economic situation. As well, there were several dozen letters to the editor. There were several offers of employment to family members mentioned in the series. In terms of newspaper stories, they are ongoing about the economic plight that county residents continue to find themselves in.
7. Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
N/a.
8. Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Work to identify early on human examples of the phenomenon you discover through official interviews and documents. It is often quite difficult to locate people who are willing to go on record with photos and sometimes audio about their wholly depressing circumstance.