LINCOLN — Carol Stitt is out as executive director of Nebraska's Foster Care Review Board, after 29 years leading the state agency.
Members of the board voted unanimously Friday to end her tenure as executive director.
The action took effect immediately but she will remain as a consultant through May 1 and will receive full salary and benefits through that time. The board also agreed to pay her health insurance for another 18 months.
Kathy Bigsby Moore, the retired head of Voices for Children of Nebraska, was named interim executive director.
Stitt's attorney, Alan Peterson of Lincoln, called Stitt a “hero” and said he believes the board made a “substantial error in judgment” by giving her an ultimatum.
She was told to resign or be fired, he said. Peterson said the board offered no list of reasons for the action. He said Stitt's recently completed annual evaluation listed both positives and negatives.
Board Chairwoman Georgina Scurfield cited “management issues that needed to be addressed.”
But she also praised Stitt as a “powerful voice for child welfare” and for her dedication to the review board.
The board refused to allow public testimony from Stitt supporters who showed up following media reports about the impending action. Among those who had hoped to speak were State Sens. Mark Christensen of Imperial and Tom Hansen of North Platte.
“We had really hoped this would be a private issue between the board and Ms. Stitt,” Scurfield said. “We didn't mean to distract attention from the important work that is going on with regard to child welfare.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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