Houston County has appointed Courtney Singleton as the new director of the Department of Human Resources. The appointment comes as Families vs. DHR continues to document patterns inside the department that raise serious questions about internal relationships, oversight, and accountability.

Our investigation has identified close professional and social ties between the new director and multiple DHR workers whose conduct has been raised by families in complaints and firsthand accounts. These connections are not allegations. They are documented relationships that exist within the department and predate this appointment.

Leadership in child welfare agencies is not abstract. Directors shape hiring decisions, supervision, disciplinary responses, and the internal culture that determines whether misconduct is corrected or quietly protected.

For families who have interacted with Houston County DHR, concerns about internal alignment are not theoretical. Parents have described situations where complaints appeared to go nowhere, where the same names surfaced repeatedly, and where accountability felt impossible because those involved appeared insulated by relationships rather than restrained by policy.

The appointment of a director with established ties inside the department heightens the need for transparency, not trust. Public confidence cannot rest on assurances. It must be earned through clear boundaries, independent oversight, and documented accountability.

Families vs. DHR is not asserting outcomes. We are establishing a record.

The existence of close internal ties matters because child welfare decisions carry irreversible consequences. When leadership is intertwined with those under scrutiny, the risk is not perception alone. It is structural.

This moment requires more than a title change. It requires demonstrable separation between authority and allegiance. It requires openness to external review. And it requires a willingness to confront patterns that families say have gone unaddressed for years.

This appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter in the department’s leadership. Whether it becomes a chapter of reform or reinforcement will be reflected in actions, not statements.

The documentation continues.