State Agrees to Emergency Contract with Child Welfare Group, Lawmakers and Advocates Concerned
By Emily Chen-Newton
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services agreed to an emergency contract with the child welfare organization, Saint Francis Ministries (SFM) on January 29th. The contract allows SFM to continue case management of foster care, adoption, and child welfare cases in the Omaha area, and Sarpy County. This new, roughly two-year agreement replaces a five-year contract with Saint Francis signed in 2019 which has seen intense scrutiny from the legislature and advocates since 2019.
Senator Machaela Cavanaugh
has proposed a special committee be formed to investigate Saint Francis Ministries.
Primary concerns raised by lawmakers and advocates are related to the remarkably low bid submitted by Saint Francis in 2019, which was roughly 40% less than the competing bid from PromiseShip who previously held the contract for this region. The reduced cost was made possible by saddling their caseworkers with a volume of cases far exceeding the recommendations of Nebraska’s DHHS and forcing workers to operate over the legal limit imposed by NE statute. Twelve to 17 is the DHHS recommended caseload. Even after the issue has been called out, nearly half of SFM caseworkers are responsible for more than 17 cases, and many are serving 20-25 cases.
The low bid could have been seen as appealing to those trying to balance the state’s budget and in keeping with Governor Ricketts’ approach of running the state like a business. However, Sen. Cavanaugh and others argue that if this partnership was a business decision, it was a poor one. Saint Francis accrued a debt of $10.5 million due to the low bid they proposed, and this new contract reimburses SFM for those 2020 expenses. According to a press release from The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the new contract estimates $68,890,448 for the first year and $78,362,884 for the second term of 13 months. Notably, this contract lasts just one month over two years, meaning the contract will expire a month after Governor Ricketts leaves office.
In 2019, a team of leaders from both DHHS and Child and Family Services awarded the contract to the Kansas-based organization, Saint Francis Ministries, and expedited the process to transition cases into the control of SFM after a lawsuit from PromiseShip called foul play. Saint Francis’ first year of official case management in Nebraska has been colored with whistleblower accounts, findings of financial mismanagement in both Nebraska and Kansas, and an investigation into sexual assault allegations in Kansas. Despite this checkered year of service, the state will continue to contract with Saint Francis for at least two years. Kansas has also just signed a contract with Saint Francis for another three years.
“We are honored by the faith that our Nebraska partners have shown in Saint Francis Ministries, and we remain committed to caring for children and families in the Omaha area,” said William Clark, Saint Francis’ Interim CEO.
For a more in-depth look into this developing story, check out our timeline of reporting from The Kansas Reflector, a nonprofit news organization in Kansas who we are partnering with on this coverage.