How we did it

To produce this and other articles in this series, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Ginny Monk reviewed thousands of pages of documents, photographs and videos obtained from county coroners, local police departments, news archives and state prosecutors.

Using the state Freedom of Information Act, Monk asked every prosecutor and county coroner for files on children who died in their jurisdictions. Some said they no longer had files for some cases. A few coroners provided only redacted records; some provided only some records, saying their predecessors took files with them when they left office.

Monk also obtained information from the state’s public website on child fatalities and near-fatalities.

Information from these sources enabled Monk to build a database with details on about 1,500 deaths of minors from 2012-17. Data from 2018 and 2019 was used when available.

Monk analyzed the data to determine how many and what percentage of children died of gunshots, suicide and abuse or neglect. She also determined whether children had contact with Arkansas Department of Human Services workers before their deaths and whether they were in foster care.

She interviewed current and former child maltreatment investigators, family members, health specialists and experts in child abuse and neglect.

Support for Monk’s reporting on this project also came from her participation in the 2019 Data Fellowship, a program of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism at the University of Southern California. Reporting: Ginny Monk Editing: Sonny Albarado

Copy Editing: Sandra Tyler, Chris Carmody Graphics/Illustrations: Carrie

Hill, Aaron O’Quin

Photos: Thomas Metthe, John Sykes, Benjamin Krain, Charlie Kaijo, Cary Jenkins

Web Design: Maggie McNeary, Yutao Chen

Page Design: Terry Austin Social Media: Nyssa Kruse