Missouri Independent reporters win investigative journalism prize for foster care series

Reporters Clara Bates and Anna Spoerre were awarded the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Journalism on Saturday by the Missouri Press Association for their reporting on problems in the state’s foster care.

The award recognizes reporting that uncovers information not readily available to the public and requires “exceptional journalistic skill, determination and effort.” It includes a $5,000 prize for the journalists and $2,500 for The Independent.

Bates and Spoerre’s reporting examined persistent problems in Missouri’s child welfare system, including children remaining in foster care longer than federal standards, uneven legal representation that can leave families and children stuck in the system and the experience of a teenager who spent nearly her entire life in foster care and later fought the state to keep her own baby.

Judges said the reporting combined “sharp focus on a specific subject with a sweeping indictment of statewide policy failures,” praising what they called an “almost Dickensian level of details” that made the stories both “heartbreaking and infuriating.”

The judges also cited the impact of the reporting, saying Bates and Spoerre’s work contributed to statewide improvements through legislative changes and helped prompt action on behalf of a young mother and her child.

The A-Mark Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1997, partners with the Missouri Press Association to recognize investigative reporting by Missouri journalists.

The Independent’s coverage of the foster care system was also awarded third place for best news or feature series in the Missouri Press Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. The awards were presented Saturday during the association’s 160th annual convention in Columbia

In all, The Independent collected 14 awards in the Better Newspaper Contest on Saturday, including three first-place honors.

Editor-in-chief Jason Hancock won first place for best breaking news story for his coverage of Scott Faughn’s company taking over the Jefferson City News-Tribune, Fulton Sun and California Democrat.

Hancock also took first place for best election story for his profile of Bill Eigel examining the former state senator’s continued influence on Missouri Republican politics.<

Annelise Hanshaw won first place for best news photograph and second place for best photo package for her work covering protests at the Missouri Capitol.  She also won second place honors for best story about education and best information graphic.

Deputy Editor Rudi Keller and Bates won second place for best breaking news story for their coverage of Republicans turning to a rarely invoked procedural maneuvers to end a Democratic filibuster to pass an abortion ban and repeal a voter-approved paid sick leave law.  

The Independent staff took second place for best headline writing.

Bates also won third place for best breaking news story for her coverage of the death of a man in a Kansas City jail while waiting to be transferred to a state psychiatric hospital for court-ordered treatment.

Opinion columnist Janice Ellis took third place for best serious columnist, while Hanshaw earned third place for best photo package for coverage of the “No Kings” rally at the Missouri Capitol.

The Independent was also awarded third place for best online newspaper or website. Keller took third place for best reporting using the Sunshine Law for his examination of backlogs in public records requests across Missouri government.