Juvenile Welfare Board Honors Home Visitor Gena Calisch

A routine staff appreciation event at Freedom Lake Park shifted into a moment of recognition April 24 when the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County honored Gena Calisch with the first KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Award of 2026.

Calisch, a Family Support Specialist with Healthy Families Pinellas, has spent more than a decade working directly with parents in their homes, helping them build safer environments, strengthen parenting skills and support healthy child development. The award recognizes frontline professionals whose work creates lasting impact for children and families across the county.

Colleagues cheered as Calisch was surprised during the National Home Visiting Week celebration. The recognition places her among a select group of professionals acknowledged for going beyond traditional service delivery to build trust and stability within families.

“I’m incredibly honored and honestly a little overwhelmed,” Calisch said in a prepared statement. “This work is about the families and the children we serve every day. Being able to walk alongside them as they grow stronger and more confident is the greatest reward.”

Calisch’s role centers on one-on-one engagement with families, often in complex or high-stress environments. From a service delivery perspective, home visiting programs operate at the intersection of prevention and capacity building. They are designed not only to respond to immediate needs but to shift long-term outcomes by equipping parents with tools, knowledge and confidence.

Her colleagues say her impact extends well beyond scheduled visits. Program Manager Christy Robinson, who nominated Calisch, described her as a consistent presence for families navigating challenges.

“She builds trust with families, helps them find their voice and gives them the tools to succeed,” Robinson said. “The impact she makes can be seen in stronger families and brighter futures for children in Pinellas County.”

Within Healthy Families Pinellas, Calisch mentors new home visitors, leads parent support groups and helps colleagues manage the emotional demands of working in intensive family support settings. That peer leadership function is often less visible but remains critical to program continuity and staff retention in high-touch service environments.

JWB Interim CEO Michael Mikurak said the award reflects the broader importance of frontline professionals in shaping community outcomes.

“Professionals like Gena are the reason our community is stronger,” Mikurak said. “She represents the very best of what it means to put children first, doing the hard, meaningful work every day, often without recognition.”

The KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Award has been presented for more than 30 years. It is named after JWB founders Leonard Cooperman and Juvenile Judge Lincoln C. Bogue, who helped establish the organization through legislation in 1945. The recognition highlights individuals whose work aligns with JWB’s long-standing focus on early childhood development, abuse prevention and family stability.

Calisch is the first of four honorees to be named this year. Additional recipients will be announced in the coming months and recognized at the organization’s 80th Anniversary KidsFirst Awards Luncheon, scheduled for Oct. 23 at the St. Petersburg Coliseum. Each honoree receives a $1,000 award.

Established by voter referendum in 1946, the organization remains one of the only entities of its kind in the country, funded through a dedicated property tax. Today, JWB invests more than $128 million annually in programs that serve tens of thousands of children and families.

Programs like Healthy Families Pinellas reflect a preventive model that aims to reduce long-term system strain by intervening early and consistently.

More information about the Juvenile Welfare Board and its programs is available at JWBPinellas.org.

Read the article as originally published at https://stpetecatalyst.com/juvenile-welfare-board-honors-home-visitor–gena-calisch/