News 5 investigates: Why is the Alabama child abuse registry easy to get on but hard to get off of?

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WKRG) — Did you know you may be on the child abuse registry and not even know it?
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'I've had corporate professionals, all the way up to a medical doctor, come to me and say, 'I went to apply for this job, and they said I came up on this Child Abuse and Neglect Registry and I had no idea,' said attorney Jacy Fisher of Greg Varner Law Firm in Birmingham.
What's worse, family attorneys told News 5, is that it is way too easy to end up on it and nearly impossible to get off of it, even after a court decides you did nothing wrong.
But a new policy may offer a glimmer of hope to some people who, for years, have battled the bureaucracy of the Alabama Department of Human Resources to clear their reputation.
Candace and Joshua Odom are a young couple living outside Montgomery. They are the proud parents of two active boys; Knox is 6 years old and Jax is 4 years old.
But they had to fight to keep their family together because of a trip to the emergency room, when Knox was 18 months old.
Candace was five months pregnant with their second son when their pediatrician suggested that they start sleep training Knox.
But Knox would cry and cry and never seem to stop. Again, the Odom's consulted their pediatrician, but he advised them to stick with it.
One morning, when Josh went to wake Knox up, he made a horrifying discovery.
'I walked in the door, and he was picking himself up… and when he turned around…his whole face was purple, and he had dried blood on his face, and I didn't know exactly what happened,' said Josh. 'I kind of…my thoughts were racing…. I had a million thoughts running through my head. The only thing I could think of at the time was maybe he had hit his head on the crib railing because it was an oak crib.'
They rushed him to the local hospital, but as the day went by, Candace, who is a social worker, sensed that something was wrong.
'The staff treated us very coldly. Like for the full day, we didn't have any interactions with nursing staff…like nobody came into our room. It was just very odd,' she said.
She told her husband 'They think we hurt him.'
Later that evening, Candace got a call from a DHR worker.
'I can still hear my screams. How they sound and just having to walk out of the hospital because he was asleep….having to walk out of that hospital and tell him goodbye, not knowing if, or when, I was going to see him again,' said Candice.
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During the phone call, DHR stated that they had to leave their son's room, and they were barred from the hospital. If they couldn't find a relative to agree to take care of Knox immediately, he would go into foster care.
The Odom's called Joshua's mother, Melinda Odom, in panic. She agreed to take care of Knox on a full-time basis. That night started a five-month period where the couple was not allowed to see their son.
'He was a baby when he went into hospital and the next time we saw him… he was a little boy. We missed that whole transition' said Josh.
But before they were able to see Knox again, DHR tried to take their second son.
It was the grandmother, 'Mee-Mee,' who noticed that Knox was making peculiar movements, including banging his head on hard surfaces. Their attorney suggested that the grandmother install a video camera in his room.
'We had over twenty videos showing him banging his head into the crib repeatedly on his own…and it turned out that a physician who was an expert in Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosed him with self-injurious behavior and pretty moderate ASD' said Fisher.
Josh and Candace paid for Knox to begin treatment for autism, while trying to regain custody. When Candace gave birth to their second son, Jax, DHR dug their heels in.
Candace describes what happened. 'I had just given birth. I was in the bathroom and the nurse comes in, 'Miss Odom, the DHR worker is here to see you.' You're in such a vulnerable position. She was like….'we're going to be filing an order to take Jax into custody.''
A family court judge denied that emergency pickup order.
DHR then filed another petition, with the same judge asking for full custody of Jax, claiming he was in imminent danger from his parents. The judge denied that too, demanding Jax immediately be returned.
The same judge would later return Knox home as well — nearly $100,000 later the family was reunited.
'The judge was very adamant in his order that he believed that those children needed to be returned to their parents and that DHR had really exceeded their discretion and their power in how they handled this case,' Fisher said.
Even though the judge cleared the parents of wrongdoing, Josh and Candace are still on the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry.
The Alabama Administrative Code states that 'a report of child abuse or neglect must be entered into the registry within three working days of an accusation of abuse.'
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Attorney Alison Herlihy, of Herlihy Family Law, explained that people think that they will be automatically removed if they are cleared by a court or if DHR concludes in their investigation that you have done nothing wrong; however, that is not what happens.
'If you get reported to DHR, they have to investigate. If the investigation concludes that basically they think you are the perpetrator of the abuse, or neglect, then that finding will be 'indicated.' It's probably what most of us would call 'guilty' but that's not the word that they use,' said Herlihy. 'If they either think A) 'you didn't do it' or B) 'there is not enough evidence to say that you did it or not;' then the finding will be 'not indicated.' But regardless which finding it is, you are on the registry because you have been reported.'
She pointed out that anyone can accuse you of anything — 'a neighbor can be mad at you and report you.'
Both Herlihy and Fisher think that hundreds of people are on the registry and don't know it.
DHR's Deputy Commissioner of Children and Family Services, Karen Smith, won't discuss specific cases like the Odom's, citing confidentiality restrictions.
We asked Smith, 'do you think everyone who is on the registry, who has been indicated, deserves to be on that list?'
Smith answered, 'I do.'
We asked 'why?'
'Because there was an allegation of abuse, neglect or exploitation. Those individuals had an opportunity to interact with staff,' Smith said.
An administrative law judge overturned the staff decision to indicate Candace.
Because she is licensed to work with children and vulnerable adults, DHR's code allowed her to defend herself in a court hearing where she could present evidence as to why she shouldn't be marked as indicated on the registry.
Josh does not have a license to work with children. He works for the Alabama Department of Revenue, therefore, he wasn't given the same shot to clear himself.
'So, I can't volunteer for anything with children. So, like sports teams…coaching Little League baseball… obviously they would do a background check, and I would…well, I know they would see that I had been indicated for child abuse,' Josh said.
Josh's mother explained how it feels having her son on the registry. 'It is the most horrible thing. It haunts me. Joshua came from nothing. We've lived in a rural area for our whole life. He put himself through the University of Alabama, him, and Candace both did. Worked very hard. Got out, got a job and we all were so proud. Now they get to start their families and for him not to be able to be a full dad, it kills me.'
Candace still struggles to this day.
'I hope one day I can forgive these people, cause I don't want to carry this, but I'm still working on that,' she said.
'I would just like to see change in the whole system, especially, I don't see how someone can be put on a registry after being proven innocent in court. My whole life being in the United States of America, my whole life, I've heard we're free, born free and now, I question it. I don't think we're really free. I think we're free until something like this happens and I would just like to see more change and accountability,' Josh said.
News 5's investigative team went to Montgomery, where DHR told us that a policy change is coming. Effective June 14, anyone accused can request a hearing.
This is welcome news to Josh and Candace's attorney, Fisher.
'Any person who DHR finds responsible for abuse or neglect, even if they're not a caregiver or professional, is technically entitled to an administrative hearing,' Fisher said. 'But, here's how it works. Once you get the indication letter saying he's been indicated for abuse or neglect you have 10 days.'
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We asked Fisher how she found out about the policy change.
'So, it was actually brought to my attention after you all interviewed Karen Smith that she claimed that the policy had changed and I think I found out the first week of May and I found an amendment deep, deep, in the inter-webs that was signed on April 30 that said that this new policy would go into effect June of 2025. But, I had not heard of it prior to that and none of my colleagues had heard of it either.'
News 5 asked DHR whether the policy change would help anyone who previously had not been entitled to a hearing in front of a judge.
'For people who did not get their due process, who did not get their day in court, who did not get to go before anyone and have their say, and for people to see them and them present their evidence,' said Fisher. 'Do you think they should be able to do that now? Should it be retroactive?'
Smith said that, 'if someone wants to have that conversation with us, we would be open to having that conversation and looking at the information, but I cannot guarantee you that it would be retroactive.'
We asked whether she believes it should be retroactive. 'I think it would probably depend on the situation,' Smith said.
Since Josh is still listed on the registry as 'indicated,' there is currently no way for him to be removed from it.
Anyone on the registry who is 'not indicated' can request to be taken off after five years if there have been no new complaints against them.
For, Candace, still on the registry, listed as 'not indicated,' she must wait three more years before she can attempt to be taken off the registry.
Family attorneys with whom we spoke are convinced there are hundreds of people on the registry who don't even know they're on it and were never given due process. Many of those people are surprised to find out they are on the registry when a background check discovers it during a job application, divorce, or custody battle.
At least for now, Josh will have to continue watching his sons play ball from a distance.
'I just have to watch from the sidelines and just try to help them as best as I can from there.'
If you believe you've been caught up in the system or treated unfairly by the government or in some other way, let us know.
Email your information to us.
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