Minnesota Child Welfare Reporter

Job Description

Location: Minnesota, USA

The Imprint, a national nonprofit news outlet, is looking for an experienced, enterprising reporter to anchor our Georgia child welfare coverage. This timely reporting post will provide critical coverage for our national audience. Ideally this reporter will be a full-time employee, but we are open to a contract/freelance arrangement with the right person. 

Our virtual but close-knit newsroom is unique. Reporters working from bureaus across the country focus exclusively on children and families involved with the foster care and youth justice systems, producing breaking news, features and in-depth investigative coverage. We produce balanced, high-quality news that is regularly co-published by other major media outlets. Imprint news articles are richly reported, and draw on our outlet’s deep, institutional knowledge. The published work informs policymakers, legislators, system professionals, parents and youth. 

There has never been a more important time for in-depth, nuanced reporting about the ways in which the government serves or fails to properly serve children and families. Our award-winning work examines the rapidly changing field of child welfare as it addresses intergenerational trauma and balances keeping children safe with the goal of preserving family ties. Each week, we expose harmful practices and highlight promising reforms. 

The Imprint’s parent company is Fostering Media Connections (FMC), a national nonprofit journalism organization. FMC’s Fostering Families Today magazine serves kinship care providers and foster parents. The organization’s Youth Voices Rising program publishes first-person pieces written by young people who have grown up in state custody.

The Minnesota Child Welfare Reporter’s primary responsibilities will include:

• Reporting and writing several stories a month focusing on child welfare issues at the state and local level in Minnesota.  
• Increasing public awareness through reporting on topics such as family preservation, community-based initiatives, legal representation, the role of relatives in foster care, trauma and mental health care, issues unique to Native American and African American communities, and racial disparities in the child welfare system. 
• Working closely with a tight-knit, diverse newsroom in a highly collaborative environment.
• Attending daily news meetings of roughly an hour.
• Working closely with editors and copy editors on each story, which will typically go through several rounds of revisions and must be fully and accurately sourced.
• Producing a monthly Minnesota newsletter with our communications team featuring our work.

Job Requirements

Qualifications

We are seeking someone with at least two years of journalism experience and strong clips. Applicants must demonstrate the ability to write clearly and concisely and be dedicated to precision and accuracy. Strong working knowledge of AP Style, LexisNexis and other basic journalism news resources is required, as well as an ability to meet deadlines. Qualified applicants will be asked to complete at least one (paid) story assignment as a writing test. Candidates may apply from any part of the country, but residency in the state of Minnesota will be required. 

Above all, we are looking for candidates who are creative, curious, eager and interested in finding and telling untold stories. While some stories will be pitched to the writer, we need a self-starter who will find story ideas on a regular basis.

While this is advertised as a staff position, we are also open to a contract arrangement with an experienced freelancer.

Fostering Media Connections is an equal opportunity employer committed to maintaining a diverse newsroom. We believe that diversity strengthens the quality of our journalism and our workplace. We strongly encourage applicants of all races, ethnicities, gender and sexual orientations, physical abilities, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds and national origins to apply. 

Compensation
This position will earn an annual salary of $58,565. FMC offers subsidized health insurance (after 60 days), a matching retirement plan and paid time off, including an extended winter break for all staff.

How to Apply
Please submit the following through our application form:

• A résumé and cover letter
• Five clips (if your stories are behind a paywall, please upload PDFs to the application form or email them to jobs@fosteringmediaconnections.org.)
• Two story ideas
• Three references, with contact information

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