Budget conference: Lawmakers agree to cut 455 positions at DCF, most in mental health

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) may trim its employment rolls by about 4% through staffing cuts lawmakers just agreed on.

After weeks of impasse, the House has accepted the Senate’s plan to slash 454 positions in the agency, give or take. That includes 89 currently vacant positions and 365 full-time-equivalent (FTE) posts working in DCF mental health facilities.

The House previously proposed eliminating 802 positions that had been vacant for more than 90 days.

DCF employs about 12,000 people across the state, according to the agency’s website.

The approved cuts, which still pend review by Gov. Ron DeSantis, would result in an estimated $22.4 million positive budgetary impact, 92% of which would return to the General Revenue Fund.

Had lawmakers adopted the lower chamber’s original offer, it would have freed up more than $53.15 million in the coming budget, which the two chambers have been haggling over for more than a month in an extended Session.

Asked Monday about employee cuts at DCF and other state agencies, Tampa Republican Rep. Lawrence McClure, who chairs the House Budget Committee, said his chamber and the Senate are trying to take a measured, needs-based approach to the process.

He added that many of the positions listed as vacancies “aren’t true vacancies.”

“They’re FTEs to plus up,” he said. “Instead of doing that exercise, why don’t we just understand what we need and how much it costs and apply it? We’re not offended, per se, by the value proposition; we’re more disturbed by the accounting practices.”

Palm Harbor Republican Sen. Ed Hooper, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, added that maintaining staffing levels at DCF isn’t easy because of how much work each employee has and the agency’s promotion process.

“It’s a tough job,” he said. “We give them caseloads that are incredibly hard to manage. The expectation is if you’re a case manager for two years, you’re probably going to be a supervisor. It’s a tough job. Yeah, there’s no doubt about that.”

In January, former DCF Secretary Shevaun Harris described 2024 as “another monumental year” for the agency, which is tasked with protecting vulnerable individuals, including children and disabled adults, and promoting strong families.

That includes overseeing the state’s child welfare and protection programs, administering public assistance like Medicaid and SNAP, licensing and regulating child care facilities and investigating reports of abuse.

DeSantis’ proposed 2025-26 budget, unveiled in February, included $4.8 billion for DCF.

In February, he announced the creation of a Florida task force mirroring the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which under President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk slashed federal agency funding and eliminated thousands of probational and full-time federal employees.

Within a year, the Governor said, the state will sunset 70 state boards, nix 900 jobs, mandate reviews of state universities and colleges, and audit local government spending.