Families Vs. DHR

Nine children were supposed to be safe. Instead, they were delivered straight into a nightmare. Authorities in Columbia County, Florida, say nine children were rescued from what deputies described as a “house of horrors,” where...

The family of 3-year-old Ke’Torrius “KJ” Starkes has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR), Covenant Services, and transport worker Kela Stanford. What is being revealed now is...

This is our second report concerning a beautiful little girl whose arm was broken while at a daycare in Dothan, Alabama. Three-year-old Xylah, a nonverbal autistic child whose well-being was entrusted to the staff at...

Across Alabama, parents are told the same thing by the Department of Human Resources: “Take these services, and you’ll get your children back.” It is said as if it is a guarantee, a roadmap...

In a country that claims to value freedom of the press, there’s a growing crisis the public hasn’t fully reckoned with: the silence and complicity of local and mainstream media in the destruction of...

Kela Stanford, the Alabama DHR contracted transport driver charged in the tragic death of 3-year-old Ketorrious “KJ” Starks Jr., failed to show up for her first scheduled court appearance on Monday. According to WBRC, Stanford...

Families vs. DHR documents real families, real cases, and real accountability. Our work spans investigations, survivor testimony, policy analysis, and public records. This page serves as a central place to follow our reporting and...

Right now, our team sits in the office with heavy hearts. Not just because of the quiet rain sweeping across Alabama but because of a different kind of storm, the kind that comes when...