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Uncovering abuse & neglect in California's disability group homes

By Ethan Elkind,
Andrew Stelzer
Published May 24, 2024 at 10:16 AM PDT
Katrina Turner embraces her father, Patrick Turner, and stepmother, Elaine Sheffer.
Chris Egusa
Katrina Turner embraces her father, Patrick Turner, and stepmother, Elaine Sheffer.

On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss KALW reporter Chris Egusa's two-part documentary series, Without A Voice: Abuse and Neglect in California Disability Group Homes, which exposes the lack of accountability and enforcement of regulations at facilities that house people with developmental disabilities. The results can be dangerous or even deadly for some of the most vulnerable Californians.

The series recently received a Webby award and was a finalist for an award from IRE—Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Guest: Chris Egusa, KALW reporter

Resources:

USC Annenberg: Six reporting lessons I learned while investigating abuse in a California group home

Disability Voices United

NPR: Few Answers In Abuse Probes At Homes For Disabled

New York Times: Jobs Aplenty, but a Shortage of Care Keeps Many Women From Benefiting

Vox: The staggering, exhausting, invisible costs of caring for America’s elderly

Your Call
Ethan Elkind
A Bay Area native, Ethan is Director of the Climate Program at the UC Berkeley School of Law, with a joint appointment at the UCLA School of Law, where he researches and writes on policies to combat climate change. His book "Railtown" on the history of the modern Los Angeles Metro Rail system was published by University of California Press in January 2014. Ethan received his B.A. with honors from Brown University and graduated Order of the Coif from the UCLA School of Law. You can read his blog on ethanelkind.com.
See stories by Ethan Elkind
Andrew Stelzer