Statement from Citrus Health Network Regarding Inspector General’s Preliminary Report

Citrus Health Network, Inc. President and CEO Mario Jardon and Citrus Health Network, Inc. Board of Directors Chair Patricia Croysdale released the following statement regarding the preliminary report from the Governor Ron DeSantis’s Office of Inspector General:  

 “The Governor’s Office of Inspector General chose to release a preliminary report incorrectly alleging inappropriate use of state funds and excessive executive compensation without first confirming the information in the report directly with Citrus, and without utilizing other publicly available fiscal documents related to our company.  

“Our CEO and COO’s salaries do not come from state funds allocated to Citrus as the Lead Agency, and are provided at no cost to the state.  This has been made clear to DCF, and it is clearly stated on the document posted on our website.   

“Citrus Health Network is a large non-profit health care organization that has been serving our community for more than 40 years.  We currently operate two divisions.  The Federally Qualified Health Center division, that provides inpatient and outpatient behavioral health, primary care, housing for the homeless, and other social services to underserved and vulnerable populations, receives funding from multiple sources, and is regularly audited by federal and state agencies with clean audits. The Community Based Care Lead Agency for Child Welfare division, which manages child welfare services for the Department of Children and Families in the Southern Region, encompassing Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties began operations July 2019.

“Citrus falls under the purview of the Governor’s Executive Order 20-44 as a result of the Community Based Care Lead Agency for Child Welfare contract with DCF, which is primarily, and majority funded by state and federal dollars.  DCF contracts with Lead Agencies throughout the state of Florida following competitive procurements that encourage competition, innovation, and stakeholder engagement.  We are held to high standards of transparency in our operations and are required to report on a variety of items regularly throughout each year, including performance measures, financial viability, and executive compensation.  Information on executive compensation, which is in full compliance with statute, is not only provided to DCF directly but is also publicly available on our Lead Agency website (www.citrusfcn.com), as required by our contract and state statute.  

“At no time did the Inspector General contact us for clarification before releasing the preliminary report resulting in a mischaracterization of our organization and how we use public funds.”