Report for America corps member Claire Savage didn’t just expose gaps in a federally mandated early childhood intervention program, she explored the heartbreaking cost with an intimate, all-formats examination of the tangible impact on children with developmental delays.
When she learned that children with developmental delays were not getting their needs met by a nationally mandated program intended to identify therapy interventions that would help, Savage went directly to the source — the children themselves. In doing so, she turned her Report for America capstone project into a compelling example of public service journalism at its best.
Claire’s story included intimate video from Melissa Winder and photos by Charles Arbogast and Ron Johnson. AP’s Sunday spotlight had more than 18,000 page views, an impressive performance amid news of the outbreak of war in the Middle East. It was used by the Washington Post, ABC News, both Seattle papers’ websites, and many others.