Tomorrow, @USATODAY is publishing an investigation into the Florida child welfare system that was conceived nearly two years ago when I received a tip about a foster father accused of abuse by two little girls.

He kept fostering until a third came forward.

Our team of reporters from three Florida papers discovered that the child welfare system is massive, with 20,000+ foster kids watched over by officials with extraordinary powers and little accountability. Parents told us about the humiliation. Kids told us about the abuse.

Towards the end, our team often joked that the project was cursed. Agencies billed us tens of thousands of dollars for records. Sources dropped out. There was a corporate merger. I took a new job. Files — gigabytes and gigabytes — were deleted, forever.

Then the pandemic.

At one point, it seemed like the project might not be published at all.

Thank god our editors let us keep chipping away at it.

And tomorrow, we get to share our findings with you.

Shoutout to my co-reporters: @Beall1, @MichaelBraga2, @JoshSalman, @suzsaysNJ. The designers who brought it to life: @Jennart, @maracorbett, @dak_le. The production team at @USATODAY shepherding it across the finish line. And to my editors, old and new, for letting me do this.

Most importantly, I thank everybody who spoke to us for this story, including those we didn't end up featuring. As journalists we ask people to share and reflect on the rawest and worst moments of their lives. We have a duty to make sure we do them justice. I hope we have.