San Francisco Chronicle

Today, the San Francisco Chronicle published journalist Karen de Sá’s latest investigation of the child welfare system. In “Dubious Arrests, Damaged Lives“, de Sá and team of Chronicle reporters focused on “emergency shelters.”

Two award-winning California journalists focused on child welfare recently ended long-term stints with newspapers in order to work for news outlets where they will have the resources necessary to do in-depth, investigative reporting on vulnerable children.

In the six years that I have covered the foster care system and worked along its fractious point of contact with the news media, an all-too-common theme has been one of mistrust, fear and subsequent misinformation.

Foster care staff address Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on June 5th. By Tasion Kwamilele & Daniel Heimpel Responding to a slew of media reports surrounding Contra Costa County’s policy of cutting off foster care for youth at age 19, District 4 Supervisor Karen Mitchoff requested an oral report at the Contra Costa County’s Board of Supervisors meeting this week “There have been two negative stories in our local paper about this, and I wanted the real story, or more fleshing of facts shall we say, out in the public,” Mitchoff said during Tuesday’s hearing in Martinez, CA.