Children have more access to digital technologies than ever before. From smartphones to tablets, young people are using devices to engage on social media, play games and explore the world around them. 

According to an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidance published Jan. 20, limiting screen time is not sufficient. Caregivers need to take a more active approach and oversee their children’s digital activity. 

“Regardless of the amount of time our kids are on screens, if they are not appropriate consumers of the information that they are taking in or we are not teaching them how to appropriately engage with others on social media,” said Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital director of psychology and neuropsychology Jennifer Katzenstein, “then we are going to continue to have issues especially as it relates to mental health.” 

She explained that too much or too little time on social media platforms, especially for girls, has led to increased rates of depression and suicidal thoughts. “So, there is really this sweet spot in the middle when it comes to social media use and it differs for every kid.” 

Video games can also have a negative impact on children, Katzenstein said. Playing high violence titles like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto can lead to “more violent tendencies and disruptive behavior.” 

Even the nightly news can affect young people. She explained that it is important for parents to talk to their sons and daughters about “what’s happened, what they might have seen and process it together.” 

Consumption of media is not the only issue. Adolescents are able to communicate with strangers via social platforms and games. 

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County in partnership with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office launched an initiative in December to help combat cybercrimes and human trafficking. 

Parents, caregivers and concerned citizens are able to sign up for a free annual membership to Parent ProTech – a platform that provides educational resources about modern technologies. 

Juvenile Welfare Board interim CEO Michael Mikurak explained in a Catalyze 2026 interview that there are approximately 800,000 registered sex offenders in the country. About 2,000 of them live in Pinellas. 

Katzenstein said that it’s essential that caregivers know who their children are talking to. Additionally, they should monitor all devices and understand every app and how it works. 

More importantly, guardians can establish rules – such as do not communicate with anyone you do not know in real life, and do not give out any personal information. 

Katzenstein recommends that families sit down and discuss screen time parameters and expectations. Parents can find media use plans online to help. 

She additionally suggests that caregivers store and charge devices outside of the bedroom to help prevent sleeplessness and distraction at nighttime. It’s also another layer of protection. 

Guardians could consider spending more time with their children outside the home, she said, to help decrease screen time and negative mental health impacts. 

The digital ecosystem can have a positive impact as well. Certain content can encourage learning and development, according to the new AAP guidance. 

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/new-digital-ecosystem-guidance-released-for-parents/

Pinellas County commissioners voted Tuesday to rename the Bayside Bridge after Bob Dillinger and Bernie McCabe. Dillinger served six terms as the Pinellas-Pasco public defender. McCabe was a long-time state attorney, and the two spent decades working together on the Juvenile Welfare Board. Commissioner Chris Latvala spearheaded efforts to rename the bridge the Dillinger McCabe Bayside Bridge. McCabe and Dillinger died in 2021 and 2024, respectively.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/zaps/county-renames-bayside-bridge-after-iconic-local-attorneys/

Bob Dillinger loved bridges.

On his way to the courthouse, where he served six terms as the Pinellas-Pasco public defender, he would often put his car in cruise control and look out at the glistening water as he crossed the Bayside Bridge.

“If there was a bridge in sight, he’d want to go over it,” said his wife, Kay Dillinger.

On Tuesday, Pinellas County commissioners voted to rename the Bayside Bridge the Dillinger McCabe Bayside Bridge in honor of Dillinger and Bernie McCabe, the former Pinellas-Pasco state attorney who worked alongside Dillinger for nearly three decades to help improve the region’s juvenile justice system.

The idea originated from Commissioner Chris Latvala, who sought Kay Dillinger’s permission to pursue the name change after her husband died in 2024.

She was immediately on board.

“It means that Bob’s name will continue to be known throughout the county,” she told the Tampa Bay Times. “If he had the decision to have something named after himself, it would be a bridge.”

Kay Dillinger met her future husband in 1976, when she was a court reporter and he was an assistant public defender. They got married four years later.

Years later, he told her he wanted to run for public defender because “I’m tired of going into court and seeing the same children there week after week that have dead eyes and no hope,” she remembered.

“I intend to change that,” he told her.

Dillinger concentrated on revamping the juvenile portion of the public defender’s office to ensure children had the same attorney throughout their proceedings, concentrating on keeping youth out of the criminal justice system through positive experiences with counsel.

He created Crossover for Children in 2008, which pairs a child with the same public defender for both civil and criminal cases. The program gives children legal help and a consistent advocate when their lives are often marked by uncertainty and trauma, Kay Dillinger said.

Bob Dillinger was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. By the time he retired in 2020, he was on his ninth round of chemotherapy.

He died in 2024 at the age of 72.

Dillinger and McCabe served together on the Juvenile Welfare Board and advocated for Safe Harbor, a shelter and service center for people experiencing homelessness that opened near Largo in 2011.

To honor the service of Dillinger and McCabe, who died in 2021, the Juvenile Welfare Board created the Dillinger-McCabe Putting Children First Leadership Award. It’s presented annually to “a well-established leader and champion for Pinellas County children and families,” according to the organization’s website.

Kay Dillinger said McCabe and her husband had a “wonderful working relationship and friendship.”

“They agreed to disagree and agree at times because they had a job to do,” she said. “It was known around the state that the state attorney and the public defender in Pinellas-Pasco were the epitome of making the criminal justice system work.”

Kay Dillinger maintains a close friendship with McCabe’s wife, Denise, who stood alongside her Tuesday morning for the announcement of the bridge’s renaming.

The most touching moment was when the commissioners handed them a miniature version of the road sign that will appear on the bridge, said Denise McCabe.

Bernie McCabe always wanted to be a defense attorney, she said, until he worked in the State Attorney’s Office prosecution clinic while in college at Stetson University.

“He was not just blindly prosecutorial,” she said. “No other pairs in those two seats in the state of Florida at the time got along.”

Despite their different backgrounds, Denise McCabe said, Dillinger and her husband always had a mutual respect for each other and worked together as a team.

“I know Bernie is smiling down and I know he is so honored,” she said.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2026/01/20/bayside-bridge-bob-dillinger-bernie-mccabe-public-defender-state-attorney/

Announcing a new local digital safety initiative in partnership with the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB), local law enforcement, and Pinellas County Schools, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) are warning parents about online safety for children. In a recent Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s Post, the department compared leaving children unprotected online to leaving doors or windows unlocked at home, emphasizing the risks of digital threats.

JWB and Pinellas County officials (pictured above at JWB’s December 8 press conference, hosted by PCSO) are warning parents about risks such as cyberbullying and online predators. To help, JWB is offering free access to Parent ProTech, a tool designed to promote online safety for children.

Parent ProTech provides resources to help parents monitor and guide their children’s online activity, including educational videos on AI chatbots, social media guidance, and parental control tips. JWB is offering the subscription—normally $4.99 per month—free to local families.

The Sheriff’s Office emphasizes digital literacy for both homes and schools. Parent ProTech includes a K–12 curriculum to help educators guide students’ online activity. Parents can sign up for free membership through links in the original social media post.

Read the article as originally published at https://hoodline.com/2026/01/pinellas-county-sheriff-s-office-promotes-cyber-safety-for-kids-with-free-parent-protech-access/

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) is now offering parents free resources to protect your kids from the dangers of Artificial Intelligence. 

JWB has partnered with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, other local law enforcement agencies and Pinellas County Schools on a new digital safety initiative, which includes JWB bringing families a free subscription to Parent ProTech.

“Kids spend hours every day on their devices, using social media, playing games, and possibly chatting with AI bots,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook about their partnership with JWB. “That opens them up to all kinds of trouble including bullying, harassment, and exploitation.” 

Parent ProTech helps parents and caregivers navigate the world of technology with:

• Content and resources about keeping kids safe online
• Videos on topics like AI chatbots, online predators, and social media platforms
• Information on parental controls and the latest trends
• A K-12 curriculum for educators

While the subscription would normally cost $4.99 a month, JWB is offering it to local families for free through this link.

View the segment and article as originally published at https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/pinellas-county-parent-protech-ai-protection/67-c76ccea7-f83c-48ba-810a-f1d60a0134ac

Keshawn’s Korner founder and CEO Ricquesha Fuller believes bridging the gap between youth and adults can play a key role in tackling mental health challenges.

She started the nonprofit in memory of her son, Keshawn Fuller, who took his own life. The organization’s tailored support includes matching teens with mentors and peers who understand their mental health challenges.

Keshawn’s Korner hosted a mental wellness panel event Jan. 10 at the Enoch Davis Center. Panelists include two licensed mental health counselors, Edward Settles and Denise Moore, and four young adults, Traverious Jenkins, Ta’Nayshia Grover, Kiana Favors and Aiymere Sanchez. 

The conversation started with how to find passion and encouragement. 

Favors, 20, argued that passion “changes with time” because life is consistently evolving. She believes it’s important to find passions that foster growth and help an individual become a better person. 

“Being a youth in the community, I’ve bumped my head a lot. I’ve run into walls and have been in trouble,” said Sanchez, 19. “Constant reassurance and love and gratitude from my parents and people in my community constantly uplift me every time I fall down.” 

Another key topic that was discussed was role models. 

“I didn’t have a lot of men in my life. So, I had a best friend who had a lot of men in his life,” Jenkins, 24, explained. “I hung out with him most of the time so that I could see and observe what men actually did on a daily basis.” 

Moore, who oversees a counseling practice in Tampa, stressed the importance of adult mentors. 

“If we want our younger generation to be better and to be well, we have to be willing to talk to them,” she told the Catalyst. “We have to be willing to let them know about our experiences, and what we went through and what worked and didn’t work.” 

Speaking with adults is just one aspect of seeking guidance. Many young people choose to talk to friends, cousins or siblings. 

Grover, 20, and Favors discussed the importance of being surrounded by peers who are encouraging. More importantly, those who keep you accountable. 

“How I knew my best friend was right for me was the space she holds for me,” Grover said. “She teaches me and inspires me and I can learn from her. Everything that is not right in her eyes, she can let me know.” 

Favors added that it’s essential to have friends who support growth and understand that “my current situation is not my final destination.” Sometimes, she explained, all it takes is having a person who is there to listen and not gossip. 

Settles spoke with Jenkins and Sanchez about vulnerability, particularly about the things they fear in regards to growing up and maturing. 

Jenkins explained that if he ever has children, he wants them to experience more than just the neighborhood. He hopes they can see other parts of the country and the world. Marriage is “not big” in Jenkins’ family and he wants to break that cycle as well. 

“My biggest fear is not being able to stand on my word,” Sanchez said. “I think compromise is big in society and you have to compromise to get to where you want to be and make sacrifices, but you have to know when to compromise yourself and when not to.” 

Settles, who is in his 40s, added that he grew up in an era where men were not encouraged to be vulnerable and speak about their feelings.

 “We’re not supposed to demonstrate what people used to think as feminine emotion,” he said. “But, men are super emotional creatures.” 

The event was sponsored by the Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival, Handy Pros Residential Contractors, the Pinellas County Urban League, and the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. 

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/keshawns-korner-hosts-mental-wellness-event/

JWB Interim CEO Michael G. Mikurak and Joshua Adams, Chief Creative Officer of Parent ProTech, discuss JWB’s new digital safety initiative with Allison Godlove of Great Day Live.

When JWB was created 80 years ago, the threat was a person in a van trying to lure children away with candy. Today, there are 500,000 predators active online at any given time. 

There are 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. and nearly 2,000 in Pinellas County alone. Local law enforcement and legislators are working to stop online crimes against children, but prevention is key.

Children and teens spend an average of 8 to 11 hours on devices each day, which is negatively impacting their mental health!

Plus, there’s a growing gap between what parents know about technology and how their children use it.

We must educate and engage parents in keeping their kids safe online.

Accessing online safety should be simple and barrier free. So, JWB is absorbing the cost of annual Parent ProTech subscriptions for Pinellas parents, so parents can focus on gaining wisdom over worry.

Sign up today to keep your children safe online at app.parentprotech.com/jwb.

View the segment as originally published at https://www.wtsp.com/video/features/great-day-live/juvenile-welfare-board-of-pinellas-county-launches-initiative/67-9c7298a1-b7b7-41e1-b0e1-3ee26c21014a

My responsibility as JWB’s Interim CEO is two-fold: To spend Pinellas County tax dollars wisely while ensuring children are safe, healthy, and equipped to reach their full potential and grow up to become whatever they want to be.

Today’s children are immersed in a digital world where devices drive their learning, play, and social lives, fundamentally reshaping their reality and drastically shifting how they experience childhood. However, this environment also presents significant challenges and evolving dangers.

When the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) was created 80 years ago, “stranger danger” meant someone in a van offering candy to lure children away. Today, cyberbullies, human traffickers, and online predators can enter homes 24/7 through a child’s phone, computer, or gaming device. Left unchecked, it’s as risky as leaving a child’s bedroom window open or your front door unlocked.

“Stranger Danger” Has Moved Online

Every day on every device, online dangers threaten to harm our children:

• 500,000 predators are active online daily, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
• 800,000 sex offenders are known and registered in the U.S. – 1,800 in Pinellas County alone – per the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR).
• 1,000 counts of child pornography were investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office last year, according to Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
• A child’s first exposure to pornography online starts as young as 5, per recent studies in the U.S., England, and Australia.

The threat is no longer a van in your neighborhood: It’s 500,000 predators online daily at any given time. These bad actors spread child sexual abuse material, threaten children’s mental health through cyberbullying and online harassment, and groom, sextort, and commit other sexual harms against children.

With children averaging 8 to 11 hours on devices daily—even higher during school breaks—studies show that spending just three hours online doubles their risk of depression and anxiety. This pervasive exposure prompted the U.S. Surgeon General to declare a national youth mental health crisis, all while suicide rates for minors have nearly doubled since 2000, making it the second leading cause of death for children and teens.

Law enforcement, legislators, and the legal community are working diligently to stop online crimes against children. But with 500,000 predators active online daily, prevention is key. To protect the next generation, we must arm parents and caregivers with knowledge and empower them to safeguard their children while online.

Bridging the Digital Divide | A Powerful Tool to Keep Kids Safe Online

Children are often more digitally proficient than the adults raising them. Case in point: an 11-year-old recently resolved an issue with my mobile phone that stumped my own service provider. This illustrates the growing gap between what parents know about technology and how their children actually use it.

To help bridge this digital divide, JWB discovered Parent ProTech, an expert-backed platform that equips families with practical tools to keep children safe and thriving in a digital-first world.

Their vast online library includes how-to guides, conversation starters, and safety recommendations on topics like parental controls, social media, AI, and more. Parent ProTech experts tirelessly scan the digital horizon, delivering timely and dynamic videos that move as fast as technology does. Families can also subscribe to the ProTech Playbook, an online newsletter that serves as a targeted alert system, unmasking emerging threats before they reach a child’s device.

Protecting Pinellas County’s next generation requires a united front. In a historic first for the nation, JWB is leading the way by removing all barriers and providing free Parent ProTech subscriptions to every Pinellas County household, ensuring universal access to critical online safety resources. This is your tax investment at work – equipping every family with the tools to navigate the digital world safely and protect children online, neighborhood by neighborhood.

This New Year, move beyond awareness to action. Pinellas County Residents: Access your free Parent ProTech subscription today for expert-led video guides and resources. Turn your resolution into protection for children and secure the digital future for our next generation at https://app.parentprotech.com/jwb.

The Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) has strengthened our community by investing in children for 80 years. JWB was created by Pinellas citizens—the first in the nation to tax themselves to secure brighter futures for children. JWB prevention and early intervention services support kids from their birth through adolescence – for the life of the child.

Michael G. Mikurak, JWB Interim CEO, leverages 30 years of global business expertise and 12 years of leadership on the JWB Board to champion children’s futures. Managing a $156M budget, Mikurak drives strategic partnerships and rigorous accountability to strengthen the lives of 80,000 children and families annually.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2026/01/05/free-tool-protect-online-dangers.html