We’ve spent decades blaming the system. Parents say it. Judges say it. Even the workers inside it say it. The system did this. The system made a mistake. The system took the child. But the...

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.

By Staff Writer | Families vs DHR In a small Alabama town, a grandmother stood by her phone, waiting for a call that never came. Her daughter had just been taken into custody, and she...