Dec
5
Revolving door for fired workers
Filed Under juvenile justice, privatization, projects |
My colleague William M. Hartnett and I built a one-of-a-kind, 17,000-record employee database for this investigation of hiring practices in Florida’s mostly outsourced and privatized juvenile justice system. That data allowed us to do what the state could not: Identify at least 200 employees hired by juvenile justice centers even though they had already been fired from similar jobs elsewhere for violence, misconduct or incompetence. The resulting stories prompted state leaders to follow our lead and build their own statewide employee-tracking database, and crack down on companies that refused to share information.
STORY AND DOWNLOAD LINKS
Main story: Revolving door for fired workers
Sidebar: Records crackdown would reveal problem workers
Sidebar: What we found and how we did it
Print pages in PDF: Right-click and save-as to download (1.3 MB, 3 pages)
RECOGNITION FOR ‘REVOLVING DOOR’
Finalist, Freedom of Information Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors
Runner-up, single story, Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism