A grandmother writes in heartbreak and disbelief after being denied the chance to care for her own grandchildren. Her letter, shared with permission, is a raw reminder of how DHR separates not just parents and children but entire generations.

A five year old is hospitalized with life threatening brain trauma. A woman from Dothan is behind bars. And Alabama’s child welfare agency is once again facing questions about why it failed to act despite reported warnings.

The CPS Policy Library is now live. For the first time, families can access the actual rules DHR and CPS are supposed to follow in every state. This is not opinion. These are the official policies, available, readable, and finally within reach.

You are not required to sign a safety plan. DHR’s own policy states that these plans are voluntary and do not change legal custody. This article explains what safety plans really mean, when to be cautious, and how to protect your rights.

This is not just about paperwork. It is about power. Across Alabama, parents are being coerced into signing safety plans under the threat of losing their children, without evidence, without a warrant, and without due process. This is not protection. It is a system weaponized.

Across Alabama, good mothers are being targeted before they ever leave the hospital. This powerful testimony exposes how the child welfare system is punishing families based on fear, not facts, and why so many are now too afraid to grow their families.

*** Watch the full clip here *** Seventeen years after Nancy Schaefer’s warning, families are still fighting to be heard. The system hasn’t changed. It has simply gotten better at hiding. In 2007, State Senator Nancy...

When Alabama Deputy Commissioner Karen Smith was asked if everyone on the state’s abuse registry deserved to be there, she answered without hesitation: “I do.” With no requirement for trial, no guarantee of notice, and no clear path for removal, Alabama’s registry functions as punishment by accusation. This investigation explores the real cost of that system and the chilling indifference of the official defending it.