Director accused of stealing $45K from foundation for special needs adults

The director of a Georgia foundation that aids developmentally challenged adults has been arrested and accused of stealing $45,000 from the organization, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office said.

Misty Dawn Baynard, 42, of Cartersville, was the director of the Good Shepherd Foundation, which is a sheltered work center for special needs adults. The sheriff’s office said in a news release that she took roughly $45,000 from the foundation from July 2019 to May 2020, according to an investigation into a forensic audit conducted by the organization’s Board of Directors.

Baynard is charged with 42 counts of theft by taking and one count of exploitation of an elder or disabled person, according to the release.