Investigations WA homeless youth program closes after contractor ‘misspent’ $330K Officials ordered a lobbying firm to pay back money meant for a state-funded Lifeline pilot hotline that connects at-risk young people to services. by Elizabeth Whitman / April 16, 2024
Investigations WA’s $5M youth homelessness effort is ramping up. Is it working? Though the funds helped dozens of young people secure housing, delays and slow spending stalled some programs in their first year. by Elizabeth Whitman Youth Today / August 15, 2023
Investigations ‘Home was never a place’: One woman’s life in WA foster care Now 30, Janell Braxton says she continues to reckon with the separations and instability stemming from her time in the foster system. by Elizabeth Whitman & Sam Leeds Youth Today / November 21, 2023
Investigations Researchers team up with court staff to help WA homeless youth H-SYNC — Housing Stability for Youth in Courts — has piloted using evidence-based surveys to identify teenagers in need of support services. by Elizabeth Whitman & Sam Leeds Youth Today / November 14, 2023
Investigations Washington’s new youth homelessness ‘Lifeline’ service lags The $750,000 pilot program has struggled to meet promises after state officials chose a lobbying firm to build the hotline service from scratch. by Elizabeth Whitman & Sam Leeds Youth Today / October 25, 2023
Investigations Podcast | It’s a Youth Today News takeover The third episode of the investigative series co-produced with Crosscut focuses on one woman’s experience with foster care and homelessness in WA. by Elizabeth Whitman / January 3, 2024
Politics Washington state poised to ban guns at protests, Capitol grounds Despite opposition from Republicans and gun-rights activists, lawmakers in Olympia are working to deter ad hoc ‘patrols’ and armed protests. by Levi Pulkkinen & Katie Hayes InvestigateWest / April 9, 2021
News WA laws banning private armies go unenforced before election As concerns grow over vigilante militias on Election Day, police say laws are too vague to invoke. by Katie Hayes InvestigateWest / November 2, 2020 / Updated 2:10 p.m. November 3
Politics Washington state lawmakers look for ways to limit armed militias State laws are vague on armed protests and paramilitaries, but legislators and activists are trying to change that. by Katie Hayes InvestigateWest / January 8, 2021
Investigations WA homelessness group exposed sensitive data on kids, young adults A Way Home Washington launched an internal investigation after health and safety information on hundreds of young clients was made public. by Elizabeth Whitman / July 27, 2023