OMAHA- A child-abuse pediatrician warned Tuesday that vulnerable children and families have been falling through the cracks ever since Nebraska contracted with a Kansas-based nonprofit to manage Omaha-area child welfare cases.

Dr. Suzanne Haney, who runs the foster care program at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, told a panel of state lawmakers that she got page after page of examples when she asked her staff for input on the care provided by that contractor, St. Francis Ministries of Salina, Kansas.

There was the kinship foster parent caring for four foster children along with her own two children and her aging parents. The family had to quarantine when the children were diagnosed with COVID and head lice. But the St. Francis case worker said he could not provide them groceries or prescriptions because he had already done his monthly visit with the family.

“I am very concerned that our current system is unworkable and is actually harming our most vulnerable children,” Haney said.

She testified at a hearing held jointly by the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee and a separate legislative committee charged with investigating the state’s contract with St. Francis.

State Sen. John Arch of La Vista said the hearing, held in Omaha, was a chance for the public to comment about the quality of care provided by the contractor.

Matt Stephens, a St. Francis vice president who attended the hearing, said he was unaware of any such threats and would look into the situation.

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