DeSantis said he expects Florida experts to be in all sheriff’s offices. What about them?

Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis held a press conference in Tallahassee on April 1 to announce the hopes that Florida Liaison had trained him to be in all sheriff’s offices.

Snapped between a sheriff and deputies in state capitol uniforms, Desansis promoted the liaison as a dedicated conduit between the program and law enforcement. The governor said each of them “works as trained experts in Florida’s hopes,” and “can educate others about the “philosophy and function” of the First Lady Signing Initiative.”

“It’s really special to work together from all 67 counties in Florida,” Casey DeSantis told reporters.

But 13 sheriff’s offices, including Florida’s biggest agency, told the Tampa Bay Times there were no such experts. When asked about his work with Hope Florida, the agency said there was little interaction other than providing a contact name after being asked by the Florida Sheriff’s Association to do so.

“We’re not actively involved with Florida Hope,” said Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri when asked last week.

Contradictions arise when lawmakers recently began questioning the scope and effectiveness of the program’s work.

Announced by First Lady in 2021, the Hope Floridy initiative aims to trouble people from government services and connect with community resources such as charities and religious organizations.

DeSantis Deputy Reporter Molly Best said the liaisons have been “identified” and “going well” at each sheriff’s agency.

At least three sheriff’s offices responding to the Times investigations in Brevard, Volusia and Pasco say staff are trained to understand how Florida Hope and the program work together.

The most frequently featured questions to Florida’s Highway Safety and Automobile Division. A spokesman there said video training was being produced and the materials were shared with police agencies and the sheriff’s office.

“We’re going through each of the Florida sheriffs,” spokesman Gatlin Nentiel told The Times in an email almost a month after the Desantises announcement, adding that training is being held on the first Friday of each month. He didn’t say when the monthly sessions began.

Several sheriff’s agencies said they were not aware of ongoing training and had not received the material. The two said the Florida Sheriff’s Association contacted them this week about attending training Friday morning just days after reporters sent questions to law enforcement in the state.

A spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement this week that the agency could not find any information on the program internally and “doesn’t indicate that no one has contacted us about this yet.”

The Hope Florida Program has been scrutinized over the past few months after pushing for the Hope Florida office being enforced within the Governor’s office. Lawmakers began asking questions about the program. It is particularly related to the $10 million that the state challenged another charity created to support Hope Florida.

A Times/Herald reporter revealed that $10 million is part of a settlement with the state’s Medicaid contractor. The Hope Florida Foundation has given money to two nonprofits. These groups then gave $8.5 million to the political committee, which was overseen by James Uthmeier, the then staff member of Desantis.

As lawmakers pondered the program, on March 19, the Florida Sheriff’s Association held a virtual sheriff’s office meeting to hear about Hope Florida, records show.

Several sheriff’s agencies said the meeting, which includes representatives from the governor’s office, is not a training session. Nentiel objected, saying it was a training led by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

During the meeting, each sheriff’s office was asked to provide future contact information for the initiative. Records obtained by the Times show that the association shared a list of contacts from Florida and sheriff’s agencies on March 27, writing that the program “in some cases we send communications or calls.”

Five days later, Desantise announced that all sheriff’s offices have trained liaisons.

At a press conference, the governor pointed out that Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Plumel, president of the Florida Security Association, was in support. But more than three weeks later, a Charlotte County Sheriff’s spokesman said the agency appointed the liaison in March but was not contacted. The spokesman added that the agency “sounds like a great program, so we are waiting with concern for further directions from hope.”

Captain Chris Sims of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said in an email to the Times that he has not been trained or otherwise obtained any information since he was in contact.

Terivalbera, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, said when he called on April 25th, he initially didn’t know Hope Florida or what it was doing. After speaking to office contacts, Barbera said the agency “has not heard of anyone in Hope Florida yet.”

On April 25, a Hillsboro County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the initiative was “still in the early stages of development.”

Nentiel introduced the Times to the Sheriff’s Offices for the Indian River, Brevard, Volsia, St. Lucy and Levy County.

A spokesman for the Volsia County Sheriff said the agency has been working with Hope Florida since 2023 to link 74 families to food, clothing, toiletries, gas cards, bath passes, baby products, temporary housing and substance use services. The agency said it hopes Florida has a record of referrals.

A Brevard County Sheriff’s spokesman said in an email that he would like to be contacted by Florida, “who plays the role described in the governor’s press release.” The spokesman did not answer follow-up questions about the training.

The Levy County Sheriff’s Office did not respond.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office also said since 2023 it has been working with Florida through its Children and Family Department to showcase people’s community services. The agency said the children and families department, which is at the forefront of Hope Florida, has a record of referrals.

The Indian River and St. Lucy, the two sheriff’s agencies that Nentiel mentioned the Times, said they had been contacted last month. However, they were unaware of official training. And they said they would not consider the experts.