When graduate student Brooke Lewitas began research for her master’s thesis at Boston University, she learned that the Massachusetts child welfare system has been in a constant state of crisis. Encouraged by her professor, an award-winning investigative reporter Lewitas began speaking with people impacted by the system in an attempt to figure out what kinds of problems are facing the Massachusetts probate and family courts, foster care system, and juvenile justice system. After being told of these enormous tragedies, Brooke sets out to answer the question of how a system with all the best resources can be so horrifically broken.

Broken is being produced by award-winning production company LCMedia Productions, a sponsee of Filmmaker’s Collaborative and will be distributed via public television in 2025.