Hughes calls for spotlight on child welfare award, management

McCOOK, Neb. – Sen. Dan Hughes told constituents that the investigation into St. Francis Ministries is important and there needs to be “some very bright light shone on the process” of awarding and managing the contract to provide child welfare services in Douglas and Sarpy counties for the State of Nebraska.

St. Francis significantly underbid the previous provider in July 2019, and then was awarded an emergency two-year contract in January 2020 worth $147 million in order to assure that child welfare services would continue.

Earlier this session, the Legislature approved a resolution from Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, Omaha, to create a special committee to investigate. Last week, the executive committee, which Sen. Hughes chairs, appointed nine members to sit on the investigative committee, and Sen. Cavanaugh was not appointed. In frustration over the exclusion, Sen. Cavanaugh led a lengthy standoff in the Legislature by filibustering budget bills and halting progress.

Sen. Hughes told constituents on a Thursday morning Zoom call that a compromise is in the works, which appeared to be the case as the filibuster came to an end and several pieces of legislation advanced throughout the morning on Thursday before the Legislature adjourned for a four-day weekend.

The state’s $9.7 billion budget package earned second-round approval on Tuesday. The budget includes $100 million earmarked for a new prison and $15 million for a newly created Prison Overcrowding Contingency Fund. Sen. Hughes explained that the $100 million is “set aside”, but not “appropriated”, meaning that the funds will be available only if a green light is given to building a new facility.

In addition, the Legislature has about $211 million in additional money available to spend, and Sen. Hughes said about $35 million of that has already been approved, although not yet through final reading.

A bill that failed to survive a cloture vote was LB88 introduced by Sen. Adam Morfeld, Lincoln. The bill would give student journalists rights of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, with exceptions for libelous or slanderous expressions. According to Sen. Hughes, the bill would have taken oversight of high school newspapers away from the administration, giving students the ability to use school resources to print whatever they wanted. “We are training and educating our young people and there are boundaries that they have to learn before they get out into the real world.” Sen. Hughes did not support the bill and said it was dead this session.

Another topic of discussion was the Nebraska State Board of Education’s health standards for schools. Sen. Hughes said he had heard from many constituents on the topic, but the legislature does not currently have any proposed bills to address the matter. Sen. Hughes said a letter was sent from the legislature to the Board of Education, which he signed, stating that he disagreed with the standards that the State Board proposed.

Sen. Hughes said that the optional standards are proposed by the state board, but the local school board will still be the final decision maker on whether or not to implement those standards.

The State Board of Education is independently elected. Robin Stevens of Gothenburg is the representative for District 7, which covers the western half of the state. He began his four-year term in January 2019 and his email address is robin.stevens@nebraska.gov.