- Duet, a nonprofit serving people with disabilities, laid off around 30 staff members amid financial struggles
- Families are concerned about how that will impact their loved ones.
- Duet's executive director says the layoffs were necessary for financial stability
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Families of people served by Duet, a nonprofit that provides services to people with disabilities, are raising concerns after the organization laid off dozens of staff members amid financial struggles.
Family members said they were left wondering how the organization's financial situation could have deteriorated so significantly.
Jodi Derby, whose loved one receives services from Duet, spoke up at Wednesday's board meeting, where attendees heard from Duet leadership about its financial struggles.
"What's gonna happen to all the people we served, all the people we love? If they keep laying people off," Derby said.
Tiffany Milone, who has only been Duet's executive director for a couple of months, says the recent staff layoffs were necessary for continued financial stability.
"It was a really rough day for folks at Duet," Milone said.
Multiple former staffers say the number of people laid off is around 30, including Shirietha Patterson, who had worked at the organization for three decades.
"There's a lot of emotions, I think, that are involved. Frustrated. Heartbroken after 30 years," Patterson said.
Other employees raised concerns about how the nonprofit's finances were being handled. Board attorney Chris Jerram said a comprehensive investigation into the matter was launched in 2025.
Jerram said an audit of the 2024-25 fiscal year "shows a deteriorating financial condition compared to the previous year."
KMTV reporter Jeremy Fredricks asked board member Lisa Kramer if more steps could have been taken earlier to prevent the situation.
"Hindsight's always 20/20," Kramer said.
When asked whether anything could have been done differently from the board's perspective, Kramer said, "Whether it would have put us in a different position, I can't even begin to speculate."
For family members like Cindy Heant, the priority is knowing their loved ones will continue to receive care.
"I'm feeling a little scared, but I think they will work it out," Heant said.
Duet's leaders say staff working directly with patients were not impacted by the layoffs and that those operations will continue.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
