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
Opinion Voting rights, representation and the future of democracy in the nation's fruit basket Yakima's population is nearly half Latinx, yet it took a tumultuous voting rights battle to open the door to more Latinx elected officials. Now the city council has just one. by Nikkita Oliver / January 7, 2020 / Updated at 11:43 Jan. 7, 2020
Opinion King County's new youth jail and the false promise of 'zero youth detention' The county named for Martin Luther King Jr. is investing vast amounts of money in a facility intended to incarcerate children. by Nikkita Oliver / February 11, 2020
Opinion The movement to defund Seattle police is not a personal attack Chief Carmen Best's resignation must not distract from the work of overhauling public safety and investing in Black communities. by Nikkita Oliver / August 20, 2020
Opinion Empower King County youth to invoke their rights with police Young people too often waive their Miranda rights during encounters with law enforcement. We need to fix that. by Nikkita Oliver & Dominique Davis & Sean Goode / August 13, 2020