Joel Jacobs
Joel Jacobs is a data reporter at ProPublica.
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Joel Jacobs is a data reporter at ProPublica. Previously, he was a data reporter on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s investigations team, where he worked on a variety of accountability projects including examining hospital price transparency and public housing conditions. He also covered the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes for The Washington Post. He completed his master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University and previously worked as a software engineer.
Homeless Shelters Aren’t Equipped to Deal With New Mexico’s Most Troubled Foster Kids. Police See It for Themselves.
New Mexico places foster teens with serious mental health conditions in shelters that don’t offer psychiatric services. When a crisis erupts, they call 911. “This happens all the time,” said one officer.
by Ed Williams, Searchlight New Mexico, and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network
This School District Is Ground Zero for Harsh Discipline of Native Students in New Mexico
In Gallup-McKinley County Schools, wearing the wrong color shirt can get you written up for “gang-related activity.” Banging on a window is bullying. The district is responsible for most of New Mexico’s disproportionate expulsions of Native students.
by Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth, with additional reporting by Asia Fields, Maya Miller and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network
How We Found the School District Responsible for Much of New Mexico’s Outsized Discipline of Native Students
New Mexico does not publish public school discipline data. When we looked at it, we found that Native American students in the state were disciplined more than their white peers.
by Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, and Bryant Furlow, New Mexico In Depth,
Local Reporting Network
How Title Lending Works
Title lenders in the U.S. often use predatory practices to trap customers in high-interest loans, ProPublica recently reported. This guide will help you understand how title lending works and what your options are if you’re stuck in a contract.
by Margaret Coker, The Current, and Mollie Simon and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network
How Title Lenders Trap Poor Americans in Debt With Triple-Digit Interest Rates
For some Georgia residents, title pawn contracts offer a quick way to obtain desperately needed cash. But poor regulation of a confusing system traps many borrowers in high-interest debt they can’t pay off.
by Margaret Coker, The Current, and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, with research by Mollie Simon, ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network
These Foster Kids Need Mental Health Care. New Mexico Is Putting Them in Homeless Shelters.
Youth crisis shelters aren’t set up to deal with foster youth who need intensive mental health treatment. When teens try to harm themselves or others, staff resort to calling 911.
by Ed Williams, Searchlight New Mexico, with data analysis by Joel Jacobs, ProPublica, photography by Kitra Cahana, special to ProPublica,
Local Reporting Network