Topeka ? A Kansas agency charged with protecting people with disabilities has put its employees on administrative leave, changed the locks on its doors and accepted its director’s resignation.

“We are auditing the program and its finances, and this is the most expeditious way to do it,” said Anna Silva-Keith, board president at the Topeka-based Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services.

Silva-Keith said the board’s actions Monday were in response to “several issues” raised by federal surveyors in October and calls from Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ office.

Since last year, several advocacy groups have complained that the agency had become complacent and ineffective, refusing to join legal battles for the developmentally disabled.

“We’re very concerned about this,” said Nicole Corcoran-Basso, Sebelius spokeswoman. “We’re gathering information. We’re staying on top of it.”

Silva-Keith said issues raised by the federal surveyors were separate from those being investigated by the Office of Inspector General within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Silva-Keith declined to define the issues due to pending investigation.

Board changes

In January, federal agents seized records and computers during a raid at Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services’ business office in Manhattan.

The raid followed a Journal-World report last summer that Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services was paying its then-board president Robert Ochs, 60, more than $65,000 a year for consultations on legal issues. The agency also paid for Ochs’ health insurance.

Ochs, a former pardon attorney for Gov. Robert Docking and a former vice president at the Lawrence-based Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, resigned from the board three days after the story appeared. His contract remained in effect, however.

¢ 6News video: KAPS in turmoil after federal raid¢ Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services

The Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services board terminated Ochs’ contract in January, Silva-Keith said, noting that several board members had questioned the arrangement.

“We were always told the feds had approved (Ochs’) being chairman and being under contract,” she said.

Silva-Keith said Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services director Jim Germer resigned Feb. 12 but agreed to stay on until board members could find a replacement.

Since then, the board has advertised Germer’s position in several Kansas newspapers and a national trade magazine.

“(Germer’s) resignation became official Monday,” Silva-Keith said. “He is no longer with the agency.”

Attempts to reach Germer and Ochs for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Silva-Keith declined to say whether the board had asked for Germer’s resignation.

“I’d rather not comment on that,” she said.

Extensive review due

In the next few days, Silva-Keith said, board members would be sorting through the agency’s records in hopes of getting “a grip on what’s going on. There will be an extensive review.”

A private, independent audit of the agency’s finances also was being considered, she said. Kansas Advocacy and Protective Services spent about $1.2 million a year.

Silva-Keith said the board expected to begin calling the offices’ employees back to work within two weeks. Until then, a lone worker is answering the agency’s telephones and taking messages.

Contacted Tuesday, advocacy groups welcomed news of the pending overhaul.

“I’m real happy to hear this is happening,” said Barb Bishop, executive director at The Arc of Douglas County, an advocacy group for adults and children with developmentally disabilities and their families.

“The people who work at KAPS have good intentions, and they care about their work — they’re not the problem,” Bishop said. “The problem has been with the administration and, apparently, the lack of a system of checks and balances. That system has to be there, and it has to be above reproach.”

Silva-Keith said she and other board members were familiar with the criticism.

“We want to restore our image, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen,” she said.