Gov. Rick Scott appointed retired Accenture executive David Wilkins as secretary of the Department of Children and Families.

Wilkins, who also served on Scott’s transition team, recently retired as Accenture’s Health and Public Service’s global managing director of sales according to a press release issued by Scott’s office announcing Wilkins’ appointment.

Wilkins is currently finance chairman of the Florida Baptist Children’s Home. The agency provides a variety of services, including adoption assistance and foster care, to families throughout the state.

“David’s passion for child care issues and the human services business, along with his decades of management experience in business and charities, will serve this agency well as it protects Florida’s families,” Scott said in a press release announcing the appointment.

Wilkins replaces George Sheldon, a former lawmaker and a Democrat who also served under the previous secretary, Bob Butterworth.

Gov.-elect Rick Scott named a former AHCA secretary to head his health care transition team and the Pasco County sheriff as his “law and order” chief today as time winds down to Scott’s inauguration on Jan. 4.

Scott, who pledged to cut 5 percent from state government spending, tapped Pasco County Sheriff Bob White to head his “law and order” team although White’s budget created a conflict with county commissioners in September.

White refused to cut his $85 million budget as directed by the county commission. Instead, he requested an additional $3.9 million to pay for more deputies to patrol high-crime areas.

The commissioners didn’t budge, and White has appealed his budget to Gov. Charlie Crist.

Alan Levine was the secretary of the Agency of Health Care Administration under Gov. Jeb Bush before going to work for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as his head of Health and Hospitals Agency. Levine was in charge of Florida’s Medicaid reform pilot project now operating in five counties. He’s now a senior VP at Naples-based Health Management Associates, which operates hospitals in Florida and more than a dozen other states.

Read the full list of Scott’s appointees after the jump.
(more…)