Amid ongoing scrutiny of first lady Casey DeSantis’ signature welfare-assistance program Hope Florida and an affiliated foundation, the executive director of the program is poised to step down from the job.
Erik Dellenback, who also serves as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “liaison for faith and community,” is leaving to pursue a post as CEO of Florida Family Voice, a Christian nonprofit affiliated with national groups such as the Family Policy Alliance, Focus on the Family and the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Dellenback has served as the governor’s liaison for faith and community for six years and was tapped in January as executive director of Hope Florida, a program spearheaded by the first lady since 2021 that operates in numerous state agencies.
In an email Wednesday to News Service of Florida, Dellenback said he submitted his resignation to the governor's office on March 10. His resignation will take effect May 1.
Dellenback, who worked for nonprofits linked to former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Christian singer Chris Tomlin before coming to the governor’s office, called Florida Family Voice “an incredible nonprofit focused on marriage, family, life, and religious liberty.”
“This is an opportunity that I had been pursuing for some time as I have spent most of my career outside of government. I am grateful to be asked to lead this organization and be able to have more time with my family,” Dellenback, who is married and has five children, said in the email.
State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, as chair of the House Health Care Budget Subcommittee, called Dellenback, Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch and Hope Florida Foundation Chair Joshua Hay to testify this week as part of an expanding inquiry into Hope Florida and the Hope Florida Foundation.
As he addressed the panel on Tuesday, Dellenback — who is not affiliated with the foundation — praised the Hope Florida program’s mission of connecting people who need services with churches or other private entities.
“This is going upstream and asking our faith and community partners of our state to see needs that they may not be aware of and, ideally, care for families,” Dellenback said.
The program can help people “avoid coming into the state system of care,” Dellenback said, adding that faith and community organizations “probably serve better than we do most vulnerable people, and do it at no expense to the taxpayer.”
Dellenback will continue to serve as an adviser to DeSantis after his departure from the governor’s office, Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for DeSantis, said in an email.
Dellenbeck’s planned exit comes at a tumultuous time for Hope Florida and the Hope Florida Foundation. The House has been digging into the foundation’s finances, focusing heavily on its receipt of $10 million as part of a Medicaid managed care company’s $67 million settlement with the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
After receiving the money from Centene — the state’s largest Medicaid managed care provider — last fall, the foundation made $5 million grants each to Secure Florida’s Future, a nonprofit organization linked to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Save Our Society from Drugs.
The groups received the grants while they were making contributions to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee headed by James Uthmeier, who was then the governor’s chief of staff and is now state attorney general. Keep Florida Clean fought a proposed constitutional amendment in November that would have allowed recreational use of marijuana.
The governor in recent days has lashed out at the House about Hope Florida and other issues. But House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, said Wednesday the House will not be “bullied” and accused DeSantis of lying.
During an appearance Tuesday before the Health Care Budget Subcommittee, Hay depicted a foundation that operated without bylaws and did not file required federal tax records as it disbursed funds to people and organizations. The $5 million grants to the nonprofits that contributed to the political committee were the largest grants the foundation made, according to Hay.
“In recent weeks, the public reporting has made evident that mistakes were made. There are lapses in reporting procedures. The foundation was not provided with the staffing support necessary to ensure all matters were being quickly and appropriately handled,” Hay, who was accompanied by an attorney, told the House panel.
The foundation is holding a meeting Thursday to “discuss the state of the organization, its corporate governance, its finances, public records and public meeting laws, all to ensure that the organization is furthering its mission and the Department of Children and Families’ priorities,” according to a notice posted on the department’s website.
The House’s focus on Hope Florida and the foundation has put in limbo legislation seeking to codify the office of Hope Florida within the governor’s office. The Hope Florida office would coordinate with state agencies, set eligibility criteria for people seeking assistance and establish partnerships with public and private entities that can provide services.
Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, put the legislation on hold amid the House scrutiny.
“State government should be about continuous improvement. When things are not as transparent as we would like, or as they should be, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, but we should improve and look for opportunities to do better moving forward,” Albritton said Tuesday.
