Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Child health advocate loses contract; why is in dispute

TALLAHASSEE - The head of a group hired by the state to advocate for families whose children have special medical needs said its contract was recently terminated.

Conni Wells, director of the Florida Institute for Family Involvement, says it may have been because she has criticized state policies.

However, officials at the Department of Health, which contracted with the institute, said it was sloppy in its accounting and it may have misspent state money.

The institute essentially was hired to serve as a link between families of children who require special medical attention and the state agencies that provide such assistance. The contract, which started in 2001, was terminated in May after an audit that state officials said raised questions about bookkeeping practices at the institute.

But Wells said Thursday the institute was never given sufficient justification for ending the four-year contract.

Her lawyer said the cancellation came after Wells spoke to legislators, criticizing changes made to the state's KidCare health insurance program for children. She also was publicly critical of plans to make major changes to Medicaid, a top goal of Gov. Jeb Bush's administration.

The lawyer, Bill Reeves, filed a lawsuit this week challenging termination of the contract, although the institute continues to talk with Health Department officials about resolving the issues out of court.

Wells said she hasn't been paid since April and hasn't been able to pay several employees, so is putting her own money into the institute, refinancing her house. She contends the Health Department owes the institute about $100,000.

Health officials said a random "preaudit" and a followup audit showed spending irregularities.

There appeared to be "inappropriate accounting, comingling of funds, misuse of funding; there were several concerns that were outlined" in the preaudit, said department spokeswoman Lindsay Hodges. "They were not standard accounting processes that would be expected in a state contract."

But Hodges said that while the agency planned to reopen bidding for the contract, it continues to negotiate with the institute "to come up with a mutually agreeable solution."

[Last modified July 8, 2005, 01:01:05]