DeSantis said Hope Florida experts are in every sheriff's office. Are they?
The DeSantises, flanked by uniformed sheriffs and deputies in the state Capitol, touted the liaisons as dedicated conduits between the program and law enforcement. The governor said each one 'serves as a trained expert in Hope Florida' who can educate others 'on the philosophy and functions' of the first lady's signature initiative.
'To have cooperation from all 67 counties across the state of Florida is really special,' Casey DeSantis told reporters.
But thirteen sheriff's offices — including some of Florida's largest agencies — told the Tampa Bay Times that they have no such experts. When asked about their work with Hope Florida, the agencies said they'd had little interaction beyond providing a contact name after they were asked to do so by the Florida Sheriff's Association.
'We're not actively engaged in anything with Hope Florida,' Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said when asked last week.
The discrepancies come as lawmakers have recently begun to question the scope and effectiveness of the program's work.
The Hope Florida initiative, announced by the first lady in 2021, aims to get people in need off government services and connected with community resources like charities and religious groups.
DeSantis Deputy Press Secretary Molly Best said that liaisons 'have been identified' in each sheriff's agency and training 'is well underway.'
At least three sheriff's offices that responded to the Times' inquiry — in Brevard, Volusia and Pasco — say they have staff trained on understanding Hope Florida and how to work with the program.
Best referred questions to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. A spokesperson there said video trainings are being produced and materials are being shared with police agencies and sheriff's offices.
'We are working our way through each of Florida's sheriff's agencies,' spokesperson Gatlin Nennstiel told the Times in an email nearly a month after the DeSantises' announcement, adding that trainings are being held the first Friday of each month. He didn't say when the monthly sessions started.
Several sheriff's agencies said they weren't aware of any ongoing trainings and hadn't received materials. Two said the Florida Sheriff's Association contacted them this week about joining a training on Friday morning, days after a Times reporter sent questions to law enforcement around the state.
A spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Office said in a statement this week that the agency could not find anyone internally with information about the program and has 'no indication that anyone has reached out to us yet about this.'
The Hope Florida program has come under scrutiny in recent months after Gov. DeSantis pushed to have an Office of Hope Florida enshrined within the governor's office. Lawmakers began asking questions about the program, particularly related to $10 million that the state steered to a separate charity created to support Hope Florida.
Times/Herald reporters revealed the $10 million was part of a settlement with a state Medicaid contractor. The Hope Florida Foundation gave the money to two nonprofit groups. Those groups then gave $8.5 million to a political committee overseen by DeSantis' then-chief of staff, James Uthmeier.
As lawmakers mulled the program, the Florida Sheriff's Association on March 19 organized a virtual meeting for sheriff's offices to hear about Hope Florida, records show.
Several sheriff agencies said the meeting, which included representatives from the governor's office, wasn't a training. Nennstiel disagreed, saying that it was a training led by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
During the meeting, each sheriff's office was asked to provide a future point of contact for the initiative. Records obtained by the Times show that the association shared a list of those Hope Florida contacts with sheriffs' agencies on March 27, writing that the program would 'send communications or call from time to time.'
Five days later, the DeSantises announced that there were trained liaisons in every sheriff's office.
At the news conference, the governor pointed out that Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell, president of the Florida Sheriff's Association, was there in support. But more than three weeks later, a spokesperson for the Charlotte County Sheriff said the agency had a liaison appointed in March but hasn't been contacted. The spokesperson added that the agency is 'anxiously awaiting further direction from Hope as it sounds like a great program.'
Captain Chris Simms at the Alachua County Sheriff's Office said in an email to the Times that he has not received any training or gotten other information since he was made a point of contact.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Teri Barbera, when reached by phone April 25, initially said she wasn't aware of Hope Florida or what it does. After speaking with the office's point of contact, Barbera said the agency 'has not heard from anybody at Hope Florida yet.'
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office on April 25 said the initiative 'is still in the early phases of development.'
Nennstiel referred the Times to sheriff's offices in Indian River, Brevard, Volusia, St. Lucie and Levy counties.
A Volusia County sheriff spokesperson said the agency has been working with Hope Florida since 2023 to help connect 74 families to food, clothing, toiletries, gas cards, bus passes, baby supplies, temporary housing, substance use services and more. The agency said Hope Florida has the records of the referrals.
A Brevard County Sheriff's spokesperson said in an email that the agency has a Hope Florida liaison who 'is performing those roles described in the Governor's Press Release.' The spokesperson did not answer follow-up questions about training.
The Levy County Sheriff's Office did not respond.
The Pasco County Sheriff's Office also said it's been working with Hope Florida through the Department of Children and Families since 2023 to refer people to community services. The agency said the Department of Children and Families — which has spearheaded Hope Florida — would have records of the referrals.
Two sheriff's agencies that Nennstiel referred the Times to — Indian River and St. Lucie — said last month that there were liaisons at their offices. But they weren't aware of any official training. And they said they wouldn't consider them experts.
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