2018 Features (Small Staff) Finalist: Zoë Carpenter
“Lessons From the Opioid Epidemic”
About the Entry
For the children of opioid addicts, public schools have become a place of refuge and support.
Comments from the Judges
“A nice dive into how public schools are often the refuge for children of opioid addicts. The reporter pulled together a lot of threads here, and the interviews are heartbreaking.”
“This story starts with excellent, sympathetic on-the-ground reporting. But Carpenter goes beyond that to provide some science (why does stress/trauma make it hard for kids to perform in school), look at policies — particularly slashed education and social service programs — that got us here, and put the story in a national context. Well researched, reported and written.”