Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed funding to support the Niceville Exchange Club’s initiative to bring a child abuse prevention center to the Emerald Coast for the second year in a row, despite granting funds to Exchange Club chapters in Jacksonville and Palm Beach, FL.
According to an Appropriations Project Request, Representative Patt Maney sponsored the NEC’s request for $175 thousand from the state to “help establish an Exchange Club Family Center child abuse prevention agency to provide Exchange Parent Aide services to Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Escambia counties.”
Exchange Parent Aid provides in-home counseling services to help families mitigate behaviors associated with child abuse. Niceville Exchange Club President Ron Toole said the program is proven to work, and benefits more than just families and children.
“What our centers do is send a counselor out who works with them for one hour a week for six months to a year, which costs the center 1,500 bucks, approximately, to work with them,” Toole said. “If they pull that child and go through the court system and put them in foster care, it’s $105,000 a year. So the center over in Jacksonville did over 480 cases [last year]; That saved the taxpayers of this state over $14 million.”
Sponsored by Representative Sam Greco, the Exchange Club of Northeast Florida requested around $895 thousand for its Parent Aide program. The Exchange Club of Palm Beach & Broward County requested over $760 thousand from the state, sponsored by Representative Anne Gerwig. DeSantis granted both requests, adding them to Florida’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget which he signed on June 29.
Why, then, did the Governor decide against funding for Okaloosa County’s chapter of the Exchange Club? Toole said he has no idea.
“[DeSantis] just went through and line-item vetoed it,” he said. “I’ve heard rumors that because Maney didn’t vote for the homestead exemption increase, … they were going to retaliate. I don’t know if that was it or what, but we have tried.”
Maney and Representative Nathan Boyles were the only two Republicans to vote against DeSantis’ controversial “Save Our Homes” proposal, which would eliminate property taxes for Florida homeowners over time. There is no proof any veto of the representatives’ sponsored bills is related to this opposition, and DeSantis has not addressed the decision publicly.
Read more: Maney explains his painful vote on controversial property tax proposal
According to the Florida Department of Health, Escambia County reports one of the highest child abuse rates in Florida.
“The goal was to handle the first judicial circuit; Start out in Okaloosa, start in Walton,” Toole said. “Once we get those up and going, move over into Escambia and Santa Rosa, and work with those people over there. Our goal was to have a staff of five starting out. The county had already partially donated space for us to start.”
The Exchange Program’s Child Abuse Prevention Center ensures stability for children by keeping families together. Anonymous testimonies from Parent Aide users in Jacksonville speak to the program’s impacts.
“I am a husband and the father of 3 beautiful girls and one precious baby boy,” one participant wrote. “… I cannot thank the exchange club family enough for their unwavering support and dedication. In conclusion, we firmly believe that every family across America should have access to these services. They should not be limited to voluntary or involuntary participation due to circumstances beyond our control.”
Toole said the NEC planned to use the requested state funds to get the Parent Aide program off the ground for Emerald Coast residents.
“I don’t think the Governor’s office was educated enough to know what he’s cut, because we had two other centers that were appropriated. … Ours got cut, I think it’s because we’re an initial startup. … This center’s new, it’s trying to start. I only was wanting 175k.”
Though the funding veto is disappointing for the NEC, Toole said the program is not giving up. Its next steps include fundraising and spreading the word about the importance of Parent Aide.
“We’re gonna have to go raise money,” he said. “We’re gonna have to start getting into the community and start finding out, you know, who can help us. 5k, $100; We don’t care, as long as we can start getting a little money, that will all start going to building before we can get it up and running.”
To donate to the NEC, contact them at nicevilleexchange@gmail.com.
The Office of Governor Ron DeSantis could not be reached for contact.
