Lynn Bonner, 46, has worked at The News & Observer since 1994. Her reporting assignments have included N.C. Central University and general assignment from the Durham office, Wake County government and the state legislature. She has covered the state Department of Health and Human Services since 2005.

For this series, she interviewed more than 75 people and reviewed hundreds of documents.

David Raynor, 38, is news research database manager at The N&O, where he has worked since 1992. Raynor works with reporters in acquiring, maintaining and analyzing data as part of the newsroom's computer-assisted reporting program. Raynor has worked on several projects that have won N.C. Press Association awards. For this series, he helped acquire and analyze information on death and abuse cases, Medicaid spending and community support providers.