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Florida Auditor General found Department of Children and Families delayed access to Medicaid audit, citing 'Significant Audit Constraints'

Florida's Auditor General found in a report released July 21, 2026, that the Department of Children and Families significantly delayed auditors' access to records needed to review the state's Medicaid eligibility determinations after the COVID-19 public health emergency's "unwinding" period, formally citing "Significant Audit Constraints." DCF took as long as eight months to fully answer some requests, including a follow-up inquiry sent in May 2025 that was not completely answered until January 22, 2026. DCF, whose secretary serves at Gov. Ron DeSantis's pleasure, strongly objected to the finding.

Jurisdiction
Florida
Location
Tallahassee, Florida

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Florida Department of Children and Families

In a report released July 21, 2026, Florida's Auditor General found that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) significantly delayed auditors' access to records needed to review how the state conducted Medicaid eligibility determinations after the COVID-19 public health emergency's "unwinding" period ended. The audit, which reviewed DCF records from March 2023 through April 2024, formally cited "Significant Audit Constraints" -- a designation under state and federal auditing standards for cases where the audited agency itself impairs the audit. Auditors documented in the report that a March 2024 data request wasn't fully completed until mid-April, and a follow-up inquiry into 135 Medicaid termination cases sent May 23, 2025 wasn't fully answered until January 22, 2026 -- nearly eight months later.

Florida law makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to willfully refuse an auditor access to records needed for a proper audit, and Government Auditing Standards require auditors to report exactly this kind of scope impairment. The Auditor General's office said it had twice warned DCF management in writing -- on April 1, 2024, and again on August 27, 2025 -- that the delays could produce a formal constraints finding.

DCF, whose secretary serves at the pleasure of Gov. Ron DeSantis, "strongly objected" to the finding, submitting its own version of the response timeline and arguing it worked in "good faith" to meet deadlines. The Auditor General's office rejected that characterization, saying DCF's amended timeline did not accurately reflect the audit process or the office's conclusions about DCF's responsiveness, and recommended DCF "demonstrate a commitment to accountability, transparency, and compliance with State law" in future audits.

Why we recorded this

Independent audit oversight depends on agencies giving auditors timely access to the records they need, so an agency that runs out the clock can effectively veto the findings meant to hold it accountable. Florida's own Auditor General found that the Department of Children and Families' delays "frustrated the timely performance of audit procedures" during a legally mandated review of Medicaid eligibility decisions, formally citing "Significant Audit Constraints" -- a designation reserved for cases where the audited agency itself impairs the audit. This archive records the finding because when the office that reports to the Legislature can't get straight, timely answers from the agency it is reviewing, oversight becomes voluntary rather than mandatory.

Sources

  1. Department of Children and Families - Medicaid Eligibility Determinations and Prior Audit Follow-Up (Report No. 2027-003) — Florida Auditor General primary accessed August 6, 2026
  2. Auditor General: DeSantis administration 'significantly delayed' access to Medicaid records — Florida Phoenix secondary accessed August 6, 2026

See also