WFTV, an Orlando television station, alongside reporter Sabrina Maggiore, filed a lawsuit this week in Leon County circuit court, accusing the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) of stonewalling a public records request for over a year.
The suit, lodged on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, claims DCF has flouted state transparency laws by failing to hand over emails tied to its glitch-plagued MyAccess portal—records the station says could shed light on persistent technical woes hobbling Floridians’ access to vital benefits.
The saga began on February 5, 2024, when WFTV and Maggiore requested emails to or from DCF Secretary Shevaun Harris about MyAccess, the online hub launched in December 2023 for applying to programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and cash assistance.
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Touted as a user-friendly upgrade by DCF, the platform quickly stumbled, with reports of crashes, disappearing documents, and delays stranding families in need. The station’s probe aimed to uncover how Harris and her team tackled—or didn’t—the mess.
But 387 days later, WFTV’s got nothing. The lawsuit details a drawn-out dance: DCF acknowledged the request, demanded $177 for processing in August (which WFTV paid), and promised action. By October, with no records in sight, station attorneys stepped in.
“It has now been over a year since plaintiffs submitted their public records request to DCF and more than five months since DCF received payment,” the suit states. “An enormous amount of time and effort has been invested… Still, DCF has released no records.”
DCF fired back Wednesday, claiming it’s “finalizing redactions” on over 6,000 pages and expects to deliver “imminently.”
The agency had sung a similar tune in late October, calling it the “final stages.” WFTV isn’t buying it—neither are frustrated Floridians like Volusia County’s Jodie Martinez, who told the station she’s battled cancer and unpaid bills while MyAccess swallowed her Medicaid uploads.
Community advocate Vanessa Brito and Florida Health Justice’s Lynn Hearn have echoed her plight, slamming the portal’s “systemic” failures.
The lawsuit lands as Gov. Ron DeSantis taps Harris this week to helm the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, a move up from her DCF perch since 2021. Now, a judge could force her old agency’s hand—or expose why it’s sat on records that might reveal the depth of MyAccess’s dysfunction.
For WFTV, it’s about accountability: “The ball is in their court to be honest with people, transparent with people,” Brito told the station.
With Leon County’s gavel poised, Florida’s watching—will DCF cough up the truth, or keep the public in the dark?
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