Our Reporting

December 14, 2020

California hands Sequel a major setback

The state’s decision to no longer send children to out-of-state youth treatment facilities capped two difficult weeks for the embattled company.

December 9, 2020

Washington becomes latest state to ditch Sequel

State officials decided to no longer place foster children with the company following an APM Reports investigation and reports of abuse.

December 7, 2020

How private money helped save the election

After Congress failed to aid local election offices, a nonprofit provided critical funds — including $350 million from Mark Zuckerberg — that paid for staff, ballot-scanning machines, protective gear, and rental space that helped the presidential election run surprisingly smoothly.

October 30, 2020

The last days of Wisconsin's pandemic election

The critical swing state that had a disastrous April primary endures a divisive election with long lines at the polls and battles in the courts — all amid a raging coronavirus outbreak. Yet voter turnout has been surging.

October 19, 2020

Postal data shows hundreds of complaints about election mail problems

Election officials in cities across the country had ballots delayed or go missing in the mail.

October 16, 2020

Influential literacy expert Lucy Calkins is changing her views

In a major shift, the controversial figure in the fight over how to teach reading now says that beginning readers should focus on sounding out words, according to a document obtained by APM Reports.

October 14, 2020

Will Doug Evans face accountability?

Prosecutors across the country rarely face consequences for misconduct.

October 14, 2020

S2 E20: Curtis Flowers

During three years investigating the Curtis Flowers case, we’d talked to nearly everyone involved: lawyers, witnesses, jurors, family members, investigators, politicians, and many, many people around town. But there was one person we hadn’t yet interviewed — Curtis Flowers. That is, until one day in early October, a few weeks after he’d been cleared of all charges. For the final episode of Season 2, we at long last talk to the man at the center of it all.

September 28, 2020

More than 40 states have sent their most vulnerable kids to facilities run by a for-profit company named Sequel. Many of those kids were abused there.

A yearlong investigation led by APM Reports finds the company took in some of the most difficult-to-treat children while keeping costs low in pursuit of profit and expansion. The result was dozens of cases of physical violence, sexual assault and improper restraints. Despite repeated scandals, many states and counties continue to send kids to Sequel for one central reason: They have little choice.

September 28, 2020

How Sequel wins business from California

Nonprofit operations in Utah and Wyoming allow the company to earn money treating its kids.

September 11, 2020

Judge dismisses lawsuit against DA Doug Evans

The suit had asked a federal court to prevent Evans’ office from dismissing jurors because of their race.

September 4, 2020

Charges against Curtis Flowers are dropped

The Mississippi man who was tried six times for the same crime and whose case was the subject of Season 2 of the APM Reports podcast In the Dark sees his two-decade saga come to an end.

August 14, 2020

How the post office is performing in key battleground states

Explore first-class mail on-time performance in battleground states.

August 12, 2020

Postal delivery scores in five battleground states are missing targets as mail voting increases

Large cities in key states — Philadelphia, Detroit, Milwaukee — have sub-par delivery records; a former deputy postmaster general estimates tens of thousands of mailed ballots will be at risk for late delivery.

August 6, 2020

Many kids struggle with reading – and children of color are far less likely to get the help they need

A false assumption about what it takes to be a skilled reader has created deep inequalities among U.S. children, putting many on a difficult path in life.

July 29, 2020

On the Navajo Nation, college students navigate a curfew and digital dead zones

The pandemic is making getting through college harder for students on the wrong side of the digital divide. In rural Arizona, when campuses closed, some students couldn’t log on from home, because they had no access to the internet. A local sheriff flew laptops and hotspots to community college students on the Navajo Nation.

July 29, 2020

Some colleges that weathered the Great Depression and two world wars won't survive Covid-19

The long tradition of students attending small, residential liberal arts colleges around the country was already shaky before the pandemic. Students are choosing less expensive options and more practical degrees. Experts warn that 10 percent of American colleges — about 200 or more institutions — are on the verge of going under. The pandemic is accelerating that trend.

July 29, 2020

A Florida university plans to reopen with a mandatory screening app, fewer people in classrooms, and a pilot study of virus-sniffing dogs

Colleges and universities are under pressure to reopen, but bringing students back on campus safely means dealing with dizzying logistics. As the virus surges in Miami, a large commuter campus gets ready.

July 23, 2020

A national forewarning: Wisconsin's high absentee volume and ballot errors

Voters there missed the fine print and the elections staff was overwhelmed. As November nears, a by-mail vote surge — due to virus safety — will spotlight the ballot counting in other presidential battleground states with slim voting margins.

July 15, 2020

How Washington, D.C., mishandled its response to the coronavirus

In a city with some of the most glaring health disparities in the country, District officials were slow to help Black residents deal with the pandemic.

June 30, 2020

What happened at Minneapolis' 3rd Precinct — and what it means

Faced with angry, violent protesters after George Floyd’s death, Minneapolis city leaders made the unprecedented decision to abandon a police station. It marked not only the further erosion of the department’s relationship with the community, but perhaps the beginning of a shift in American policing.

After boy's death, Hennepin County finally severs ties with troubled facilities

June 18, 2020

Our Reporting

California hands Sequel a major setback

Washington becomes latest state to ditch Sequel

How private money helped save the election

The last days of Wisconsin's pandemic election

Postal data shows hundreds of complaints about election mail problems

Influential literacy expert Lucy Calkins is changing her views

Will Doug Evans face accountability?

S2 E20: Curtis Flowers

More than 40 states have sent their most vulnerable kids to facilities run by a for-profit company named Sequel. Many of those kids were abused there.

How Sequel wins business from California

Judge dismisses lawsuit against DA Doug Evans

Charges against Curtis Flowers are dropped

How the post office is performing in key battleground states

Postal delivery scores in five battleground states are missing targets as mail voting increases

Many kids struggle with reading – and children of color are far less likely to get the help they need

On the Navajo Nation, college students navigate a curfew and digital dead zones

Some colleges that weathered the Great Depression and two world wars won't survive Covid-19

A Florida university plans to reopen with a mandatory screening app, fewer people in classrooms, and a pilot study of virus-sniffing dogs

A national forewarning: Wisconsin's high absentee volume and ballot errors

How Washington, D.C., mishandled its response to the coronavirus

What happened at Minneapolis' 3rd Precinct — and what it means

After boy's death, Hennepin County finally severs ties with troubled facilities

Atlanta cop who killed Rayshard Brooks had prior controversial shooting

Episode 6: Delta State

Episode 5: Geno