A spokesman for Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said the decision to terminate the contract of the state’s adoption czar was made because the administration “has decided to move in a different direction.”
|
Photo by Tom Latek, Kentucky Today Former Kentucky adoption czar Dan Dumas, shown here speaking with reporters last year, has had his company’s contract terminated. |
Dan Dumas, an author and former professor of Christian ministry and leadership at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, had been appointed in May to be the Republican governor’s point man on revamping the state’s adoption and foster care system under a $240,000-a-year contract. See related report.
“Gov. Bevin is appreciative of the work Dan Dumas did to advance improvements in Kentucky’s adoption and foster care system,” said Bevin press secretary Woody Maglinger in a written statement. “At this time, the administration has decided to move in a different direction as we continue progress on this vitally important issue.”
Bevin, an adoptive father, has made improving the state’s adoption and foster care system one of the cornerstones of his administration.
Dumas, who has two adopted sons, said when he was appointed he wanted to “make our adoption and foster care system faster, safer, more affordable and more accessible.”
Bevin heralded Dumas when he signed on as adoption czar.
“We have to rethink the way we do foster care in this state, and Dan Dumas is just the visionary to help lead that charge,” Bevin said at the time. “Dan is a servant leader, and his proven track record of excellence in innovation will help us cut through the red tape currently keeping 8,000 of Kentucky’s foster children from their forever families.”
Bevin was criticized for the $240,000-a-year contract, which was made with Dumas’ advising company, Red Buffalo Ventures. That contract made Dumas eligible to receive annual performance incentives by meeting specific goals.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Tom Latek is the capitol correspondent for Kentucky Today, a news resource of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.)