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June 21, 2021Omaha, Neb. |  By: AP

Costly low bid for Nebraska child services may cause changes


OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Some Nebraska lawmakers are calling for changes in how the state picks contractors, after a child welfare service that succeeded in winning a contract with an unusually low bid failed to deliver and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Members of a special legislative committee said Friday that they'd like to see changes in the process to ensure that bidders can reasonably deliver what they promise. Some lawmakers say they'd like to see more teeth in the appeals process.

The committee was formed after the Kansas-based child welfare contractor, St. Francis Ministries, won the Nebraska job in 2019 by offering to do it for less than 60% of the bid an Omaha agency that had served the state since 2010.