Child Welfare Reporter

The Connecticut Mirror ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonprofit, nonpartisan local journalism success story with huge momentum and ambitious growth goals. We cover public policy, government and politics in Connecticut and Washington D.C. Our 28-person full-time staff includes 22 journalists and six business team members.

This beat comprises two integral components of our coverage. The role will require a mix of daily news coverage and deeper-dive enterprise stories on substantive policy and human-interest issues — especially those that would otherwise go untold. We are particularly interested in stories that hold government accountable and expose systemic problems. The reporter will also write a regular newsletter, highlighting and explaining the latest developments for readers who are interested in housing and land use policy.

The reporter will cover housing and homelessness, community-level challenges with the state’s acute housing shortage, and children and families involved in the foster care, group home and juvenile justice systems. This reporter will need to build sources within the housing sector — including developers, landlords, tenant groups, and so forth — as well as the state’s child welfare system — the Department of Children and Families, and nonprofit agencies that work with vulnerable populations, etc.

The reporter will work collaboratively with other staff reporters to cover the intersection of this beat with our other coverage areas, such as human services, education, health, economic development and state finance. During Connecticut’s annual state legislative session, the reporter will be responsible for tracking bills and writing stories about proposed legislation that impacts the people, state agencies and service providers within the child welfare, housing and development systems in the state.

The successful candidate will be able to make meaningful connections between the role of government and the day-to-day challenges residents face. We are looking for candidates who can write clearly, translate jargon and use narrative and other writing techniques to engage readers. Experience with multiple platforms, including newsletters, video, audio and other story forms, is preferred.

• A passion for great journalism that covers policy, government and politics;
• Interest in child welfare, housing and homelessness issues;
• At least three years of experience reporting at a daily news organization;
• Ability to balance a combination of long-form enterprise and daily incremental stories;
• Ability to translate complex policy into readable and relevant narrative copy;
• A talent for connecting government or system failures to human consequences;
• An eagerness for telling stories in innovative, compelling ways across platforms and in a way that engages audiences;
• The ability to work well both independently and collaboratively with other CT Mirror staff and other news organizations;
• Reliable transportation and authorization to work in the United States;
• Passion for CT Mirror’s public policy mission and nonprofit ethos.
• We do not expect every candidate to be equally skilled in all these areas, and this is not a complete list of all relevant qualifications applicants might bring to the job. Reaching talent across a range of backgrounds and experiences is deeply important to us.

This position will be based in our Hartford, Conn., newsroom. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply.

• Annual salary of 65,, depending on experience.
• Medical and dental benefits, and a 403b retirement savings program with company match.
• Generous time-off policy that includes 23 days of paid…