Agency may lose it's contract

I couldn't be happier! It's most likely not going to happen but I hope the top management get their pink slips! State seeks foster care bids for Pinellas and PascoThe state is "leaning toward" seeking new bids for foster care services in Pinellas and Pasco counties, rather than automatically extending its contract with the Sarasota Family YMCA, a state official said today.Earlier, a top Sarasota YMCA official said a decision to do so had already been made.However, that is not the case, said George Sheldon, assistant secretary for the state Department of Children and Families. DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth is leaning in that direction, he added. Sarasota Family YMCA president and chief executive Carl Weinrich has said that his agency would rebid, if necessary.A state review called for serious and immediate steps to be taken to stablize the foster care system in Pinellas County. The review's report said the system suffers from high caseworker turnover, large caseloads and a sense of crisis among front-line workers. The review team was created because of a perception that the Sarasota YMCA had become a highly paid but poorly performing agency that had recently made serious mistakes in its handling of two foster children, one who died and another who disappeared.