The executive committee of Hope’s board of directors placed CEO Karen Foley on administrative leave on Sept. 29, temporarily promoting Clint Paul, chief financial officer, to fill Foley’s role. Paul has been interim CEO at least twice before – once following the unexpected resignation of former CEO Mary Ellen Caron in 2012 and again when Foley was hospitalized in 2013.
The executive committee has not given a reason for suspending Foley, according to Hope spokesman Mark Schmidt.
Schmidt says admissions to the school have also been temporarily halted by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services because Hope hadn’t been sharing information with the agency quickly enough. The school is in the middle of rolling out a new software program that tracks all aspects of a student’s health, safety and development, but that project is not complete.
The software rollout is one of several changes Hope is making to overhaul procedures. The changes were already in progress when an incident of abuse by a now-fired employee came to light in November 2013, but the abuse incident and DCFS’ involvement in the aftermath accelerated Hope’s reforms. Foley was deeply involved in the changes.
Transparency is very important to The Hope Institute because of the trust families place in the organization, says Val Yazell, director of external affairs and development at Hope.
“So many times, the stories get written slanted for whatever reason,” she said. “It’s so important for me, the donors and the relationships we have that (the public) at least hears the other side.”
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2014.
