Provide names of other journalists involved.
Jeff Cohen, a reporter with Connecticut Public Radio (WNPR 90.5), collaborated with Arielle Levin Becker on the April 27 story and produced a radio version of it. We have provided the URL for the second story so that judges can visit that Mirror page and listen to the audio report. The Connecticut Mirror and WNPR began collaborating in 2012 to enable them to share their stories with each other’s audiences. WNPR’s reports also give MIrror readers a richer experience by being able to hear the voices of subjects in the stories.
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
January 25, 2012 April 27, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Connecticut is in the midst of an aggressive effort to move seniors and people with disabilities out of nursing homes and into home- or community-based settings where they can receive care. This comes as the state’s population of people 65 and older is projected to grow dramatically, while the working-age population shrinks. These stories were intended to explore how these changes will affect two major parts of the long-term care system — the workforce and the unpaid caregivers.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
For the story on the home care workforce, I used reports from various groups on compensation and training for home care workers and people doing similar jobs in nursing homes. I also used research prepared by consultants for the state officials developing the long-term care policies. I was able to get the public documents I needed (consultants’ reports being used for the state’s long-term care plan) without filing FOI requests. For the caregiver story, I used reports about the number and estimated economic value of unpaid caregivers, model workplace policies aimed at supporting people who serve as caregivers, and
Explain types of human sources used.
I spoke with people who serve as caregivers, people who receive long-term care services at home, people who study the long-term care system and the workforce, representatives of a nursing home workers’ union, state officials planning the long-term care changes, and advocates for seniors and people with disabilities.
Results:
N/A
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
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Long-term care is incredibly important and can be extremely dry. But it’s primarily about people, and you can use people’s experiences to humanize the stories and make them very powerful. People who serve as caregivers are often under enormous stress and don’t always have much of an outlet for it (and don’t have much time to spend taking care of their emotional needs). I found that for some of the caregivers I interviewed, our conversations seemed to be among the first times they’d had to step back and really reflect on what they were doing for a loved one, and how consuming it was. Go slow and give them lots of time to talk, reflect and make connections. Many caregivers feel they’re fulfilling an obligation and feel guilty if they think they’re complaining, so be sensitive to that concern when talking to them and especially when writing about them.