By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — An Alabama state-contracted worker has been arrested in connection with the death of 3-year-old Ke’Torrius “K.J.” Starkes Jr., who died last week after he was left unattended in a car for several hours in the sweltering summer heat.

Kela Stanford, who was tasked with caring for K.J. on the day of his death, was arrested Friday on a felony charge of leaving a child in a car, the Birmingham Police Department announced. She was a third-party worker contracted by the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which oversees care services in the state, police spokesperson De’Rell Freeman confirmed to CNN.

K.J.’s family has called the death of their “bright little child” a “brutal” scenario and has leveled harsh criticism against the Department of Human Resources. At the time of his death on July 22, the child’s family said K.J. was living with a foster family, and Stanford was responsible for driving him from day care to a visit with his father.

CNN has sought comment from DHR on the arrest. The agency previously said the toddler was “being transported by a contract provider” on the day he died and the worker has been fired by the contracting agency.

That morning, the family said Stanford picked K.J. up from day care to drive him to see his father. The visit, which was part of a court-ordered process for the parents to regain their custody of K.J., ended around 11:30 a.m., according to Courtney French, the family’s attorney.

“Rather than properly returning K.J. immediately to day care, the worker made numerous personal errands with K.J. buckled in a car seat in the back of her car,” French told CNN last week.

According to a timeline provided by French, Stanford went home at 12:30 p.m., leaving K.J. “strapped inside the vehicle, with all windows up and the car engine off.” He was left in the parked car outside the employee’s home for more than five hours before the day care reached out to her to ask why K.J. hadn’t been returned, French said.

“The worker told law enforcement that it was only then that she realized K.J. was still in her vehicle” and 911 was called, French said. K.J. was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

During the time window when K.J. was allegedly left alone inside the car, temperatures topped 96 degrees and heat index values – which account for the feeling of both heat and humidity – ranged from 101 to 105 degrees, according to CNN meteorologists.

The charge against Stanford stems from the Amiyah White Act, which “prohibits leaving a child or an incapacitated person unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm,” police said in a statement.

K.J.’s death is the first hot car death in Alabama this year, and he is at least the 16th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2025, according to Amber Rollins, the director of Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to its namesake issue.

Stanford was booked at the Jefferson County Jail and has posted a $30,000 bond, jail records show. CNN has been unable to determine whether she has legal representation.

A ‘broken’ safety net for foster children

During a family news conference Friday, K.J.’s aunt and French spoke on behalf of the family, sharing the parents’ anguish while also calling for a deeper inquiry into the child’s death and the DHR’s oversight of the “preventable” tragedy.

K.J.’s aunt, Brittney Johnson, said the family is grateful for the overwhelming love and support they have received from their community. But the family still has several questions about the circumstances of the toddler’s death, and they “pray that this investigation be continued,” Johnson said.

“DHR is the Alabama state agency that’s charged by statute with the protection, the safety and the welfare of our children, our most vulnerable children,” French said. “In their custody is where K.J. died, in the custody of the state agency that legally was supposed to protect him.”

“DHR is supposed to be the safety net,” French said. “That net is broken.”

Alabama State Rep. Patrick Sellers spoke at the family news conference Friday and demanded an investigation into the Department of Human Resources policies and practices regarding foster care custody.

“While this development may bring a measure of accountability, it does not bring back the life of a precious child who was full of promise, joy and innocence,” Sellers said of the arrest. “K.J.’s life mattered. He deserved protection. He deserved care and a future. What happened to him was preventable, and that truth should haunt us until real change occurs.”

French said the Department of Human Resources has not contacted the family, responded to their questions or directly offered condolences. CNN has reached out to the department for comment.

?A candlelight vigil and balloon release is scheduled for Friday night in honor of K.J. and his funeral will be held Saturday.

CNN’s Rebekah Riess and Rafael Romo contributed to this report.

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