Beyond rehoming: Investigating Arkansas's child welfare system
The Arkansas Times is seeking funding to support a deep investigative reporting project focused on Arkansas's child welfare system.
Leader
Lindsey Millar
Location
201 East Markham Little Rock, AR 72203
About the project
The Harris story isn’t finished. There is more to report. We’ll cover those aspects of it in the days and weeks to come. But we want to quickly move beyond Harris to investigate broader questions about the state's child welfare system. Our reporting has exposed us to dozens upon dozens of sources who have stories and access to share. What they’ve told us has convinced us of the need to continue what is looking like a massive investigative project.
Our reporting on Justin Harris and rehoming demonstrates the Arkansas Times' commitment to deep reporting on subjects otherwise ignored by media. The work we've done thus far has inspired Gov. Asa Hutchinson to order a review of adoption and foster practices in Arkansas and may lead to making "rehoming" a crime.
We think there are more important stories to tell. We have a plan for moving forward. We are poised to effect change.
What we lack is the necessary staff to proceed. To get the second Harris story to press in time, Times reporter Benji Hardy worked 36 straight hours. Other editors worked 70 hour weeks. That’s not sustainable. Our entire staff, of three reporters and three editors, is what a daily newspaper might throw at a project like this. We know we won't ever have resources like that, but we think, with a slightly larger budget, we'll be able devote sufficient staff to this project to continue uncovering misdoings and inspiring policy change.
We're looking to hire more reporters and editors on a part and full-time basis. If you were moved by our rehoming reporting, we hope you'll consider supporting further efforts.
The Steps
An investigative project of this scope requires multiple reporters and editors, working in concert, to interview hundreds of sources and experts, analyze policy and search through mounds of documents received through Freedom of Information requests. Because of the importance of the topic, urgency is a must: Research and reporting must be done all at once. Stories of varying lengths will be published regularly online and in the Arkansas Times weekly edition.
Why we‘re doing it
The Arkansas Times was founded on $200 and a conviction that investigative reporting could make Arkansas a better a place. Following through on that mission — with stories that exposed police corruption, vindicated men wrongly accused of murder and revealed the environmental, health and human costs of an oil spill — the Times has persisted for 40 years. But our existence has often been perilous. For much of the life of the publication, including now, we are very near a break-even operation.
The advertising and subscription revenue that supports our small editorial staff and small freelance budget is unlikely to grow enough for us to be able to add new employees or contributors. There are only so many sleepless nights and 70-hour workweeks our staff can sustain. Yet, our reporting thus far on “rehoming” and state Rep. Justin Harris has left us convinced that a deep investigation into the state’s child welfare system is vital.
Again, if you have appreciated our reporting thus far, we hope you will consider supporting our efforts to more deeply examine the story.