Foster care official for YMCA quits

By Times Staff Writer
Published September 12, 2007

SARASOTA - The Sarasota Family YMCA official in charge of foster care programs in five counties including Pinellas and Pasco announced his resignation Monday as a state review of the agency nears an end.

Lee Johnson, 60, executive vice president of the Sarasota YMCA, said his last day will be Dec. 10.

Johnson said his resignation was not related to the ongoing review by the Florida Department of Children and Families, which was a result of various mistakes by the agency in the disappearance of a 2-year-old Pinellas County foster girl who disappeared for nine months. The review is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.

The 36-year child welfare veteran also said he was not asked to step down by anyone but is doing so to "look for some new opportunity."

Johnson, who has been with the YMCA for about six years, has worked in child welfare in Arizona, Wisconsin and Florida, where he spent years with the DCF. Johnson said he has recommended to Sarasota Family YMCA chief executive officer Carl Weinrich not to fill his position but to absorb his duties to save money.

[Last modified September 11, 2007, 23:58:27]