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Opinion
2012 Casey Medals
Winner: "Columns by David Sarasohn,"
A compelling body of reporting and writing over four months about an ongoing, yet little-known, problem: child hunger in a state that is more associated with tall pines and clear water than empty bellies. Sarasohn put a human face on a shocking statistic and illustrated the real social cost of hunger. The judges praised his columns for their many “stick in your stomach” lines; such as, “If your stock goes down, it may come back up. If you lose your job, you may get another. But if you spend fourth grade wondering if it’s time for lunch yet, you never get that back.”
Runner-Up: "Diaries of Dreams," The Orange County (Calif.) Register
A series of poignant columns illuminated the impact of the nation’s financial crisis on Latino immigrant families who live on the edge of poverty, but still cling to the American dream of upward mobility. Judges praised the author for finding her way to the heart of an economic story and revealing the daily struggles and tough decisions faced by those at the bottom of the economic ladder.
2011 Casey Medals
Winner: "Windows onto the Recession's Effect on Families" Chicago News Cooperative
James Warren masterfully flexes his journalistic muscles, old-school style, in his Chicago News Cooperative columns on the effects of the recession on families. His work is heavily reported, sprinkling in quotes and first-person observation with the depressing facts of economic hardship. While his columns don’t result in tidy solutions — even the most well-meaning policymaker is not going to immediately end the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression — readers come away better informed about the real-life struggles taking place every day on the social services front.
Winner: "A Father’s Fight," The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
The series explores the challenges of interstate child protection cases through the lens of one person’s difficult, but ultimately successful, quest to get his daughter back home. Bailey takes a careful, respectful approach to Johnny Smith’s family in a challenging atmosphere, yet doesn’t downplay the criticisms of Smith’s home by New York child protective officials. He charts this case every step of the way, leaving no question unasked – or unanswered. In the wake of Bailey’s series, Johnny Smith was granted custody of his daughter, and in late May, Bailey wrote in a follow-up column that the South Carolina Department of Social Services has revamped how it will handle the federal law in the future.
Honorable Mention: "Opinion Articles," Women's eNews and Women’s Review of Books
The authors are academics, but there’s nothing pedantic about this frank, no-nonsense appraisal of an oft-repeated fallacy about single-sex education. All four entries tackle distinct themes, but the common thread is debunking gender stereotypes that are harmful to boys as well as girls.
2010 Casey Medals
Winner: "The Manual Project," The Indianapolis Star
These editorials expose the heartbreaking challenges of an Indianapolis high school struggling with a low graduation rate and high poverty. Tully doesn’t sugarcoat the problems, but he inspires the readers by conveying the will and drive of all the people trying to help Manual High, from teachers and students to administrators and police. His unprecedented access to students and staff is revealed in the way the stories unfold like a day-to-day view of life. In response to the series, community leaders donated tens of thousands of dollars, the district cracked down on student misbehavior and volunteers reached out to vulnerable students.
Runner-Up: "A Year at Locke," Los Angeles Times
The national education reform debate has placed charters under intense scrutiny, and this enterprising year-long project informs the public more than a study ever could. The powerful and compelling editorials bear witness to the successes and shortcomings of one Green Dot Charter School. In response, the Los Angeles Unified School District developed a charter school plan modeled after Green Dot.
Honorable Mention: "In a Hungry Time," The Oregonian (Portland)
By combining local, state and federal data with personal, compelling stories, the series reveals how close even middle-class Oregonians are to going hungry. Sarasohn laudably reported from local food pantries and school lunchrooms and dug deep into the records of policymakers in Oregon and Washington, D.C.
2009 Casey Medals
Honorable Mention: "Work & Family," The Wall Street Journal
These columns highlight family issues in a powerful, poignant way. Shellenbarger’s columns not only show how public policy needs to reflect the concerns of children, but also provide solid advice for parents, such as her column on how the economic downturn affects children. The column on the debt burden on young adults is a must-read for parents of college-age children who are adjusting to doing their own finances. Her writing is graceful, her points sharp, her solutions sensible.
Honorable Mention: "One School: A World of Difference," The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
A fresh approach to how one school tries to balance the needs of its community with its efforts to comply with No Child Left Behind. Francisco took the time to examine what it means when a school doesn’t meet federal standards. By taking readers inside a struggling elementary school that is trying to overcome the odds, Francisco offers a remarkable opportunity to understand the teachers, staff and 150 immigrant and refugee children who struggle with poverty and grasping the English language.
2008 Casey Medals
Winner: "State of Denial: Oregon's uninsured," The Oregonian
This ongoing series deftly injected human stories into a complicated policy debate on the costs of uninsured residents. The writers also managed to take on Big Tobacco’s PR machine around a cigarette tax increase. The work had great impact, generating public response to the featured families, grassroots organizing and governmental efforts to cover not just uninsured children, but their parents. The writing was tight and crisp.
Runner-Up: "For I Was Hungry," Kennebec Journal
This ambitious investigative enterprise is a compelling, comprehensive read and places a seldom-discussed subject – hunger – into plain view. The seven-day campaign also spurred the creation of a school breakfast program in the state.
Honorable Mention: "Tortured Kids Cry Out for Lifeline," The Arizona Republic
Robert's columns are a great example of watchdog journalism, and they appear to be helping to bring about change in a child-welfare system too shrouded by secrecy
2007 Casey Medals
Winner: "Foster Care editorials," San Francisco Chronicle
This well-argued set of editorials details how the state and federal government reneged on a promise to support foster kids striving to attend college and live independently. The wake-up campaign got results: It convinced Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to significantly increase investments in the state’s foster care system.
Runner-Up: "Juvenile Injustice," The Indianapolis Star
In-depth reporting shows how dysfunction in the state’s juvenile justice detention system sets back troubled kids; it also helps readers see how they can help.
Honorable Mention: "Survivors’ Prayer and other columns," Greensboro News & Record
Ahern uses old-fashioned shoe leather to immerse herself in her community and writes eloquently about public policies that sometimes worsen situations for already-disadvantaged individuals.
2006 Casey Medals
Winner: "Juvenile Injustice," Chicago Tribune
In a society where newspapers (and the people who write and edit them) are supposedly becoming more irrelevant, this series shows why there is still no substitute for enterprising reporting and pointed, well-written journalism. These powerfully argued editorials pierced the reality of inexcusable conditions inside the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
Runner-Up: "Left Behind," The Indianapolis Star
This series on misleading dropout data peddled by Indianapolis Public Schools represents a sterling example of accountability journalism. Well written and beautifully packaged, with real voices and graphics that add to the powerful impact of the editorials themselves.
Honorable Mention: "Randy Guzek - 20 Years Later," The Oregonian
A harrowing saga of crime and punishment, meticulously reported and compellingly written.
2005 Casey Medals
Winner: "Rocking the Cradle...Over," The Chicago Tribune
Grumman's thoughtful, deeply reported editorials on education, children and families stand out for their originality, strong voice and intelligence. Her entries show consistently cogent writing. The issues that she tackled -- from the demise of a program for teen mothers to an analysis of how "lax parenting" has indirectly resulted in property tax increases -- show that Grumman has investigative skills as well as a sharp point of view.
Runner-Up: "Economics is Reason Enough to Restore CHIP Funding," Austin American-Statesman
Phillips' well-researched series exposes and strongly denounces the false logic and poor economic policy -- not to mention inhumanity -- behind tax cuts that have devastated health coverage for Texas' poorest children.
Honorable Mention: "Schools That Engage Children," Phi Delta Kappan
Lewis' work is remarkable for its consistently thoughtful, engaging and informed analyses of education policy.
2004 Casey Medals
Winner: "Unlocking the Future: How to Mend the Juvenile Justice System," The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune
Ramos spent a year reporting and writing editorials that probe Louisiana’s problem-ridden juvenile justice system. He illustrates, by example and also wide-angle reporting, that the state’s policies have been both expensive and ineffective; the prisons are ill-equipped to provide the rehabilitative services these youths so desperately need. His work produced significant reforms in a state where powerful district attorneys and corrections officials had long resisted change.
Runner-Up: "Standing Up to Street Gangs," Los Angeles Times
Mary Engel, Los Angeles Times, “Standing up to Street Gangs.” Engel expertly balances vivid reporting, contextual analysis and well-focused advocacy in calling for an examination of methods to prevent violence among street gangs in Los Angeles.
Honorable Mention: "Reclaiming Childhood," San Francisco Chronicle
Freedberg’s persuasive series on advertising in children’s lives provided a roadmap for parent involvement and influenced the California Legislature to ban the sale of sodas in schools.
2002 Casey Medals
Winner: "Columns on Child/Family Topics," News & Record (Greensboro, N.C.)
Ahearn is a wonderful stylist who writes with authority and brings readers to her work in an engaging, accessible way. Hers is the work of a journalist interested in reportorial discovery, and her reporting is superb. She's on the street, investing shoeleather, sticking notes in screen doors, talking to real people and listening to what they say. She obviously knows these stories before she ever touches a keyboard.
Runner-Up: "Series on the 'Abandoned Baby Law' in CA," The Sacramento Bee (Calif.)
Lundstrom kept a watchful eye on how the new law concerning abandoned babies played out in California. With punchy, concise writing that doesn't dwell on the maudlin, she made an effective case for why $1 million might have helped prevent a spate of baby abandonments in her state. The ultimately allocated funds, while not a panacea, surely were in part a result of her persistent prodding.
about this award
The Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism recognize exemplary reporting on children and families in the U.S. More than 4,500 journalists have competed for Casey Medals since 1994.