Joaquin Sapien
Joaquin Sapien is a reporter at ProPublica covering criminal justice and social services.
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Joaquin Sapien was one of the first reporters hired at ProPublica in its first year of publishing in 2008. Since then, his journalism has explored a broad range of topics, including criminal justice, social services, and the environment. In 2019, he was a co-producer and correspondent for “Right to Fail,” a film for the PBS documentary series Frontline. The film was based on his 2018 examination of a flawed housing program for New Yorkers with mental illness, which appeared in the New York Times. The story immediately prompted a federal judge to order an independent investigation into the program. It won a Deadline Club Award and a Katherine Schneider Journalism Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability.
In 2015, Sapien wrote about care for troubled children, beginning with a story in the California Sunday Magazine on a group home that descended into chaos. His work helped an abused boy receive a $12 million jury award and led to the closure of another embattled home in Long Beach.
Past areas of focus include New York City Family Court, prosecutorial misconduct, traumatic brain injury, natural gas drilling, and contaminated drywall used to rebuild after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Sapien’s work has earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Society of Environmental Journalists, and Investigative Reporters and Editors. He was a four-time finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Before joining ProPublica, Sapien was a reporter at the Center for Public Integrity.
Find Homes With Tainted Drywall
When the Consumer Products Safety Commission provided data in October, the agency said it had received fewer than 3,500 reports of tainted drywall. ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune compiled a list of addresses from county property appraiser data and records in consolidated lawsuits filed in New Orleans federal court and found nearly twice that number: around 6,900 homes.
American-Made Drywall Emerges as Potential Danger
Thousands of Americans have houses contaminated by defective Chinese drywall; now a new group of homeowners say they are experiencing similar problems -- but their homes are built with drywall made in the United States.
Federal Probe of Chinese Drywall Falls Short
For thousands of U.S. homeowners who are grappling with the trauma caused by defective Chinese drywall, one thing is now clear: The federal government is woefully unequipped to help them with a product defect as expensive and widespread as this one.
Lowe’s Amends Settlement to Get Drywall Victims More Money
Lowe’s Companies Inc. is offering $100,000 in cash to customers who can prove their health or their homes have been substantially damaged by defective drywall they bought from Lowe’s. The amended settlement came after a ProPublica and Sarasota Herald-Tribune report that a previous version of the settlement shortchanged victims and was overly generous to attorneys.
China Plays Tug-of-War With U.S. Inspectors Over Drywall
A team of federal investigators who traveled to China last year to search for answers about defective drywall faced resistance from Chinese government officials. At one point, a Chinese official snatched a drywall sample from an American’s hands.
More Details Emerge about Drywall Settlement
Details of the settlement involving a major Chinese drywall manufacturer and several defendants emerged on Thursday in New Orleans federal court.
Drywall Manufacturer to Repair 300 Homes in First Major Drywall Settlement
Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, one of the largest manufacturers being sued for producing defective Chinese drywall, will announce tomorrow that it will participate in a remediation pilot program that involves repairing about 300 homes.
IRS Offers Tax Break for Homeowners With Defective Drywall
The IRS will allow homeowners to take a deduction for costly replacement of harmful drywall.
Habitat Changes Its Tune on Defective Drywall; Must Gut at Least 70 New Orleans Homes
Habitat for Humanity now says at least 70 houses that it built in New Orleans — including in its much-touted Musicians’ Village — have tainted Chinese drywall that must be replaced. For more than a year, Habitat had been saying the houses were safe.