Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 396 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

How Madeline Snyder, a trans woman in Tyler, got her driver's license fixed

Tasneem Raja

November 19, 2018 |

The Tyler Loop |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tyler, Texas

The legal process for changing your name and gender on drivers' licenses or birth certificates was—and, to a degree, still is—convoluted, expensive, and time-consuming. A grassroots movement started after the 2016 Presidential Election that used GoFundMe, Facebook, and public support to help Madeline Snyder and other trans people from Tyler, Texas change their legal documents all at once. The process wasn't always straightforward, but it had about a 75% success rate and brought with it a groundswell of support from the trans and ally communities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
The Jim Crow Jury System Falls in New Orleans

Brentin Mock

November 08, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

An amendment passed in Louisiana does away with non-unanimous jury verdicts that have helped solidify racial discrimination in the criminal justice system since they were implemented in response to Reconstruction. Data shows black defendants were more likely to be convicted in the non-unanimous system and the votes of black jurors more likely to be silenced. Advocates said the amendment is a huge game changer against mass incarceration in Louisiana and racial discrimination.

Read More
Go to Original Story
America's Other Family-Separation Crisis

Sarah Stillman

November 05, 2018 |

The New Yorker |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tulsa, Oklahoma

As incarceration rates of women in America continue to rise, Still She Rises, a project of the Bronx Defenders, uses a holistic approach to legal defense for incarcerated mothers in Tulsa, OK. Attorneys for the organization investigate injustices in cases and represent local, often impoverished, mothers, who face losing custody of their children in the face of the law.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Emergency Preparedness for Prisons Isn't Just Sandbags and Non-perishables

Emma Coleman

November 02, 2018 |

New America Weekly |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005 stranded people incarcerated in the New Orleans jail without food or water, the city used the experience not to question its disaster preparedness but instead to rethink who needs to be incarcerated in the first place. By easing policies in cash bail and arrests for petty offenses, the city cut its jail population by two-thirds and replaced its flooded jail with one less than one-quarter the original size. The new policies helped inspire Louisiana to revise its sentencing standards in an effort to end its distinction for having the world's highest incarceration rate.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Law & Disorder: Progressive Prosecutors Hope to Dismantle Mass Incarceration

Manny Faces

October 30, 2018 |

News Beat |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States

Across the United States, individuals and organizations are seeking to shift the criminal justice system through District Attorney elections. From online communities like colorofchange.org, which seeks to support grassroots election efforts, to individuals like Minnesota’s Mark Haase, who is running on a platform of diversity and inclusion, to the Texas Organizing Project that wants to empower Black and Latinx communities, each of these missions seeks to create more equity and transparency in the criminal justice system.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Alternative to Incarceration Program in NYC Gives Teens a Second Chance

Maria Serrano

October 17, 2018 |

South Florida Media Network |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

Esparanza, a non-profit located in New York, provides comprehensive services for teenagers who are in the justice system. The intensive family counseling has been a successful alternative to incarceration since 2002, and research shows that the approach and other restorative justice practices are well suited for helping children who have been involved with the justice system lead healthy lives.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How one state is using incentives instead of penalties to boost child support payments

K. Sophie Will

October 15, 2018 |

Deseret News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

Washington State is using behavioral science and kinder, more compassionate communications to help encourage full payment of child-support from non-custodial parents. With their efforts, including friendlier communications and meeting reminders, hundreds more parents have been meeting child-support workers.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Philly Program Teaches Defendants How To Help Themselves

Annette John-Hall

October 05, 2018 |

WESA |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, the participatory defense program helps people learn how to present themselves in a criminal case in a way that gives a more complete picture of who they are. They write a biography, get letters of support and bring supporters to court in a system the chief public defender brought from Montgomery County and which originated in Silicon Valley. The program helps public defenders present their cases more effectively and judges may be more likely to impose less harsh sentences.

Read More
Go to Original Story
One State Is Disrupting the Pipeline from Foster Care to Jail

Liza Veale

September 23, 2018 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, California

In 2017, California's Continuum of Care (CCR) program began shifting money away from group homes for children in foster care, closing 300 homes in the first year. The money goes instead to recruiting more families to house children, who are newly eligible for extended care to age 25. The goal is to shrink a system that too often dooms children to homelessness on the streets and incarceration. While some clients have found the family love that a group home can't replicate, many lower-income families have struggled to meet the program's requirements, threatening its ultimate success.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Judge in the Court of Public Support in Redmond, Washington

Hallie Golden

September 21, 2018 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Redmond, Washington

Community courts around the country, like the one in Redmond, Washington, are replacing punitive versions of the justice system with a process that emphasizes assistance and personal growth for minor offenses. Participants are given a set of requirements, like community service, counseling sessions, and more; since its start in April, the court has "graduated" 15 participants.

Read More
Go to Original Story