Sen. Cavanaugh calls for an investigation into St. Francis Ministries' spending

By Fred Knapp , Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media

Sept. 1, 2022, 5 p.m. ·

Saint Francis Ministries.jpeg — Saint Francis Ministries, a Salina-based foster care provider, accused its former leaders of misspending millions of dollars and is suing to recover the money. But in response to reporting by Kansas Reflector, the organization says "there are no unaccounted dollars." (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

A Nebraska state senator Thursday asked the state’s attorney general to look into Nebraska’s now-terminated contract with a Kansas child welfare agency.

In 2019, Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration signed a contract with Saint Francis Ministries, a Kansas organization, to manage child welfare cases involving neglected or abused kids in the Omaha area. The contract was supposed to save the state money, but after years of underperformance and cost overruns, Nebraska terminated the contract last December.

Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh is asking Attorney General Doug Peterson to file a motion ordering Saint Francis, its former CEO, and an information technology consultant to preserve any evidence relating to Nebraska, and to have the State Patrol open an investigation.

Cavanaugh referred to an article in the Kansas Reflector, an online news source, that said the FBI believes the consultant siphoned more than $10 million from Saint Francis.

“I would like us to at least look into if Nebraska was a party to any of the malfeasance that the FBI is investigating. And by ‘party,’ I mean that they are a victim,” Cavanaugh said.

A spokeperson said Attorney General Peterson had no immediate comment.

Sen. Cavanaugh calls for an investigation into St. Francis Ministries' spending

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