Nebraska Inspector General issued a report claiming that children in Nebraska face increasing trend of serious injuries

LINCOLN, Nebraska — Following the removal of Saint Francis Ministries as a provider of child welfare services in Douglas and Sarpy County, a report on the subject compiled by the Nebraska Inspector General suggests that ongoing problems exist.

Inspector General Jennifer Carter stated in the annual report that more problems with documentation and a failure to follow rules further confirmed her recommendation to remove Saint Francis Ministries as the agency in charge of child protection in the Omaha metropolitan region.

“Inadequate paperwork, as well as what, at times, appeared to be a misunderstanding of what the rules and regulations needed.” “Therefore, all of that served as an indication to us that the decision to make a change was the appropriate one,” stated Carter.

In fact, the State severed its links with Saint Francis at the beginning of this year, and the legislature put an end to the practice of privatizing child welfare services.

The research also highlighted an increase in the number of children who had suffered major injuries while in the system. According to what Carter said on 3 News Now, the state was mandated to conduct an investigation into eight cases of serious harm over the past year. The previous year, there was only a single occurrence that required their attention.

According to Carter, “there are always serious injuries in the system; nevertheless, when you see an upsurge like that in comparison to prior years, it worries us about the stress families are under and what might be happening.”

Carter also brought out additional issues that need to be addressed, like the deficiency of transitional housing for children. She is determined to find out the reason for everything.

“When there was COVID, people may have been afraid to put people into their homes or have a rotating door where there may have been an exposure. ” “When there was COVID, people may have been afraid to put people into their homes.”

In addition, there have been persistent problems with the system’s staffing levels. Carter stated that the legislature had the ability to contribute additional resources to the system.

Committees have recently been formed with Carter, MPs, and other stakeholders as members in an effort to improve the current child welfare system.