Over the last several months, I’ve poured hours — no, days — into researching and understanding where and how the Alabama child protective system, and systems like it across this nation, have gone so wrong.

At first, I thought I’d find cracks in the foundation. Maybe policies in need of updates. Maybe overworked caseworkers trying their best in a broken framework. I believed I’d uncover a system that was failing, but fixable.

But what I found was something far worse:

This system is not failing. It is functioning exactly as it was designed.

It was never built to protect all children. It was not created to support or strengthen families. And it certainly was not designed to extend grace or uphold dignity for the families it targets — especially those in marginalized, over-policed communities.

Instead, it operates on surveillance, control, coercion, and removal. And far too often, that removal is permanent.

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This Pattern Is Not an Accident — It’s a Design

As I’ve dug deeper into the child welfare system, I’ve come across family after family, story after story, parent after parent — all echoing the same painful reality:

“They violated my rights.”
“They took my children without due process.”
“They forced me into classes, counseling, drug testing — and still, it wasn’t enough.”

And these are not rare experiences. This is not isolated trauma. This is a nationwide pattern. A design.

I’ve watched it unfold with people I know. Loving, dedicated parents — doing the hard work of building homes filled with discipline, care, and intention — only to have their efforts ripped apart by a knock at the door. By allegations without proof. By a system that prefers control over context.

This system doesn’t stumble into families. It targets them.

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The Brandy Murrah Case: A Glimpse Into Deeper Corruption

If you need proof that this system is capable of destroying lives without accountability, look no further than Ozark, Alabama.

In 2020, Brandy Murrah, a former lab owner, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony count of perjury and 16 misdemeanor counts of forgery.

Her crime? Falsifying drug test results in child custody cases.

Let that settle.

She knowingly submitted fake test results — evidence used in court to separate parents from their children. And the system trusted her.

Because of her lies, children were removed from their homes. Families were shattered. Reputations were destroyed. And no amount of prison time can reverse the trauma those parents and children now carry for life.

If corruption that deep could thrive quietly in a small Alabama town, how much more is flying under the radar, unchecked and unresolved?

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The Families Are Speaking — And We’re Not Alone

We are now in a moment where families — mothers, fathers, grandparents — from every corner of this country are waking up.

They are fighting for answers. Fighting for justice. Fighting to protect their children from a system that was never built to show them mercy.

A system that dares to preach reunification while practicing destruction.

The truth is, this system doesn’t need small reforms. It needs accountability. It needs exposure. And in many cases, it needs to be dismantled and rebuilt from the ground up with the well-being of children and families at its core.

Because what’s happening now isn’t protection. It’s state-sanctioned trauma.

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We Are Calling on Lawmakers

We are calling on lawmakers — not just in Alabama, but across this entire nation — to take a step back from the noise, the headlines, and the chaos of politics long enough to look right over their shoulder at what’s happening in plain sight:

The child protective system is not working. And in too many cases, it is doing more harm than good.

We are asking you to investigate the deep inadequacies and injustices taking place in family homes, where parents are being stripped of their God-given rights to raise, love, and protect their children.

Yes, oversight matters. Yes, some children are in danger and need help. But that truth does not give CPS or DHR the right to barge into homes, violate constitutional rights, and make life-altering decisions based on incomplete investigations, unproven accusations, or unchecked bias.

Too often, these agencies operate on autopilot — numb, rushed, and careless. And in their haste, they make decisions that tear families apart forever.

We demand better. We demand justice. And we demand that those elected to protect this nation’s values start protecting the families who are being silently destroyed by the system that claims to care.

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We Are Here. Still Standing. Still Fighting.

This is our declaration. Our cry for justice. Our warning and our promise.

We are not powerless. And we will not be silent.

We are here. Still standing. Still parenting. Still fighting — even when the system fights us back.