Homepage

Dallas Adds Kids to Pioneering Approach for Mental Health Emergencies

Eight years ago, Parkland social workers became the first in the state to join cops during these 911 calls. Now, children in crisis get the same treatment.

by Claire Ballor

Welcome to The Lab Report

Our journalism is actionable and drives real-world impact. Explore our investigations, explainers, and data to see how.

OUR REPORTING

David Woody Walks Back Across The Bridge

The outgoing CEO of the city’s largest homeless shelter on increased demand, FIFA, and the importance of being downtown.

by Matt Goodman

Neighborhoods

The Librarian Who Retired and Only Got Busier

A hero to toddlers and seniors, Logan Ragsdale can’t help himself from helping others.

by Sharon Grigsby

Neighborhoods

The Kids Are All Right at Prosperity Park

How a rubble-ridden lot in Oak Cliff became a safe place for children who do far more than play.

by Kelli Smith

Public Services

In the Tenth Street Historic District, a Home Repair Program’s Promises Remain Broken

Dallas used pandemic relief funds to fix houses and upgrade infrastructure in neighborhoods within Oak Cliff and elsewhere. Years later, some residents ask what went wrong.

by Matt Goodman

Criminal Justice

They Spent Weeks Housing the Homeless, Then Police Showed Up

Service providers launched a new initiative in South Dallas to provide apartments to people in encampments, but that didn’t stop police from making arrests.

by Kelli Smith

These children were sold for sex. Then the system failed them again

A investigation from the Dallas Morning News found that North Texas has the most uncompensated sex trafficking victims in the nation.

President Trump's changes to SNAP benefits are causing "chaos"

Paperwork snafus have kicked families off SNAP. Researchers are concerned about work requirement expansions leading to thousands of deaths by 2040. This piece examines the consequences of all the abrupt changes to the program.

The U.S. homicide rate is falling, but domestic killings are not

The nation is on pace to record its lowest number of homicides in decades. But domestic violence deaths remain stubbornly high, and family annihilations — in which four or more relatives are killed — are on the rise. (Paywall)

Housing

View All

How Dallas Police Ramped Up Homeless Enforcement

The January storm was on its way, but the cops came first. Police approached a clearing filled with tents less than a mile south of Deep Ellum that winter morning, confronting nearly four dozen people who had settled onto the cracked pavement beneath Interstate 45. Those in the encampment awoke to a fleet of police…

by Kelli Smith

The Public Won’t Be Seeing the State’s Report on Foster Care Problems

How Texas’ Foster Care Fix Fell Apart in Dallas

A New Park Is Coming Near You

In Dallas County, Stalled Paperwork Keeps Teens Homeless

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

View All

Dallas’ Juvenile Justice System Was Broken. Have County Leaders Fixed It?

The length of time child defendants spent incarcerated in Dallas County awaiting their cases to be resolved declined by 59 percent in two years—moving the juvenile justice system closer to meeting national standards for the first time since at least 2018. The average number of children held behind bars last year who were awaiting sentencing…

by Kelli Smith