LINCOLN — With the benefit of hindsight, neither state officials nor the embattled nonprofit that is managing child welfare cases in the Omaha area would sign the contract that binds them together.

That's what leaders of both the Department of Health and Human Services and St. Francis Ministries of Salina, Kansas, said Friday under intense questioning from a special legislative committee.

The committee is investigating how HHS and St. Francis ended up signing a $197 million contract in July 2019, as well as how St. Francis has carried out the contract.

HHS CEO Dannette Smith said there was extensive discussion within HHS about the feasibility of the St. Francis bid before recommending that the state sign the contract.

William Clark, the interim president and CEO of St. Francis, said there was staff within St. Francis who raised concerns about the bid, especially those working in programs and finance, and believed that it would lead to financial losses. But he attributed the problems to sloppy work, not bad intentions.

Several questions Friday focused on who was ultimately responsible for deciding to sign the contract. Smith pointed to the Department of Administrative Services, which handles procurement for the state. She said that HHS made the recommendation to contract with St. Francis but that the other agency ultimately made the decision.

A report issued last month by Jennifer Carter, inspector general of Nebraska child welfare, called for the state to terminate its contract with St. Francis and end its 12-year experiment with having private entities manage child welfare cases.

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