"I even got to lead a Poynter seminar on child welfare reporting that motivated me as much as it did the reporters in the room. They came from 25 news organizations - print, broadcast, digital. And they got it: foster care isn't a niche story. It's a $10 billion federal line item - with additional billions spent locally - tied to youth homelessness, incarceration, school failure, and a litany of medical issues, all bearing their own economic and societal costs."
"Coverage matters every day - not only when a child dies. The challenge? Time. Reporters want to dig in, but newsrooms are stretched thin. My pitch: Treat child welfare as a sub-beat. File the records request. Make that one fresh call. Don't wait for funerals to cover the system. Our guest speakers hammered this home. April Lee, who co-founded Philly Voice For Change, reminded us that kids in foster care aren't case files but human beings."
Long-term, in-depth reporting of the foster care system reveals systemic drivers and measurable policy impacts. Coverage exposed that most placements result from neglect linked to poverty rather than abuse, and that racial disparities and workforce shortages compound outcomes. Foster care represents a multibillion-dollar public expenditure connected to youth homelessness, incarceration, school failure, and medical problems with broad economic costs. Sustained reporting produced state and local legislation, council hearings, and new funding. Journalistic practices recommended include treating child welfare as a sub-beat, filing records requests, making routine calls, and engaging people with lived experience respectfully rather than exploiting them.
Read at Poynter
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