When we published our interactive map of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ backlog of disability benefits claims in August, our goal was to highlight the delays’ impact on veterans across the country. Updated with new data from the VA each week, the map also serves as an ongoing accountability tracker for the agency’s progress on […]
Shane Shifflett
Data Analyst/News Applications Developer
Shane Shifflett is a software developer and reporter who learned how to interrogate data while working on a story at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. There, he wrote about a drug-addled prostitute's 300th arrest and the unforgiving criminal justice system failing its inmates. He also reported on the Chicago Police Department's wasteful deployment of cameras across the city. Before reporting, Shane studied computer science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, worked in construction, moved packages for UPS and wrote software for a mutual fund company.
Posted inReturning Home to Battle
Newly released data reveal extent of veterans’ backlog
The Center for Investigative Reporting is releasing data used in our recent report detailing how the Department of Veterans Affairs’ ability to quickly provide benefits to veterans has virtually collapsed under President Barack Obama.
Posted inBenefits, Health Care for Veterans, Returning Home to Battle
Despite VA pledge to improve, more veterans face long wait for benefits
Army veteran Michael Grabski and his wife, Sandra, search real estate websites in their Napa apartment. The Department of Veterans Affairs expedited Grabski’s 2-year-old claim for post-traumatic stress disorder and a knee injury after his case received media attention.Michael Short/Center for Investigative Reporting Under fire for its growing backlog of disability benefits claims, the U.S. […]
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Posted inU.S. Education
Controversial school bonds create ‘debt for the next generation’
Video: Sharon Pieczenik Decade of Debt: Capital Appreciation Bonds Uncover how much high-interest debt school districts, community colleges and government agencies have issued. Each circle represents a public entity. The larger the circle, the greater the debt. The redder the circle, the higher the interest that entity will pay. The Napa Valley Unified […]
Posted inMoney and Politics
Federal judge’s rulings favored companies in which he owned stock
Judge Manuel Real of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles was appointed to the bench in 1966.Photo by Virginia Lee Hunter A federal judge has issued three key rulings over a four-year period that favored companies in which he owned stock, a California Watch analysis has found. Measures are in place to prevent judges […]
Posted inBenefits, Returning Home to Battle
Map: Where is the veterans’ backlog the worst?
Compare backlogs and wait times at the 58 VA regional offices on this interactive map. Data on the number of veterans waiting, the number of veterans waiting more than 125 days, and the average delays veterans face update weekly, tracking in real time whether the VA is living up to its promises to improve. Other […]