The Alabama Department of Human Resources defines its mission in reassuring terms: “To provide for the protection, well-being and self-sufficiency of children and adults.” Yet across the state, stories continue to surface that show an agency...

A chilling tragedy in Philadelphia reveals how systemic overload and ignored warnings can lead to preventable loss. On April 15, 19-month-old Sy’vir Hill was found unresponsive in a bathtub at his foster home in the...