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 whose practice defies its promise.

The most recent tragedy was the death of three-year-old Ke’Torrius “KJ” Starkes Jr., who died after being left in a hot car while under DHR supervision. Representative Patrick Sellers of Birmingham has responded with calls for transparency and reform, saying the case underscores urgent flaws in how the agency operates. His words reflect what families and advocates have been demanding for years: without accountability, DHR will continue to fail those it claims to protect.

The failures are not isolated. In Houston County, DHR confirmed in writing that a toddler named Xylah was abused at a licensed daycare, yet the facility remained open and no charges were filed. In Lee County, Lance Wright filed repeated emergency motions to bring his daughter Zy’nnya to safety. The hearings never came. Zy’nnya was killed. In Brent, ten children were hidden underground in a bunker, subjected to years of abuse, while the system looked away.

These cases are symptoms of a deeper problem: a culture within DHR that shields itself instead of confronting its mistakes. Whistleblowers describe children sleeping on office floors, shuffled between caseworkers with no placement available. Families who have overcome addiction, escaped abusive relationships, or simply struggled through poverty are offered no grace. Instead, they are punished, while contractors and institutions continue to profit.

The agency’s public face tells one story. The reality tells another. Workers who act in blind loyalty are rewarded, while those who raise alarms are silenced. Parents who dare to resist are crushed by legal machinery, while children are left to suffer in licensed facilities that should never have been allowed to remain open.

The false face of protection cannot stand much longer. Alabama must take immediate steps to impose independent oversight, remove the shields of immunity that protect bad actors, and demand transparency whenever a child in state custody is harmed. Families deserve an agency that serves them, not one that destroys them.

What is clear now is that Alabama’s child welfare system is not simply malfunctioning. It is functioning in ways that destroy families and cost lives. Real change requires more than promises. It requires a new foundation.

Commissioner Nancy Buckner has led Alabama’s Department of Human Resources since 2008. For more than a decade, the agency’s failures have continued under her watch. The tragedies of Xylah, Zy’nnya Wright, the children in Brent, and KJ Starks are not the responsibility of a single worker or contractor. They are the responsibility of the commissioner who oversees every office in this state.

If DHR can intervene in families’ lives with the force of law, then its leadership must also be held accountable when children die in its custody or suffer under its supervision. That accountability begins at the top.

We are calling on the public to contact Commissioner Buckner directly and demand justice. She can be reached via email Nancy.Buckner@dhr.alabama.gov.

A simple message can carry the weight of truth:

“Commissioner Buckner, under your leadership children have died, families have been destroyed, and trust in DHR has collapsed. We demand accountability, transparency, and immediate reform. The people of Alabama deserve better.”

Until the public insists on answers, silence will remain the agency’s strongest defense.