Tallahassee Community College announced honorees from the third annual Heroes in Public Safety celebration. Heroes in Public Safety was created to recognize TCC alumni who have trained at the Florida Public Safety Institute or the Ghazvini Center for Healthcare Education, or individuals who are members of public safety in our community. 

This celebration recognizes personnel in the following areas: law enforcement officers, firefighters, fish and wildlife officers, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, juvenile justice officers, corrections officers and communications personnel who put their lives on the line or provide direct support for the safety and protection of Florida’s residents and visitors in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla Counties.

The Public Safety Hall of Fame distinction is reserved for individuals, making a difference within our community, and have demonstrated extraordinary service to their community, state, and/or nation through their continued leadership in the public safety field.

The following people have been inducted into the Public Safety Hall of Fame class of 2022:

• Chris Corbitt, Sergeant, Tallahassee Police Department 
• Arthur Kirby, Public Safety Communications Officer, Consolidated Dispatch Agency 
• Bill Martinez, Sergeant of the Patrol, Florida Highway Patrol 
• Nick Roberts, Detective, Tallahassee Police Department 
• Alice Sims, Assistant Secretary for Prevention Services, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice 

The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to those who have dedicated years of service during a distinguished career, advancing the public safety profession through their leadership roles. Lifetime Achievement honorees are committed and have made extraordinary contributions through their work, which has had a positive impact on the community.

The following individuals have received the Lifetime Achievement Award:

• Michael Anderson, Executive Director, Florida Department of Corrections 
• David Brand, Law Enforcement Coordinator, Florida Sheriff’s Association 
• Annette Brown, Division Chief, Tallahassee Fire Department 
• Craig Carroll, Operations Captain, Leon County Sheriff’s Office 
• David Coffman, Retired Director of Forensic Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement 
• Albert “Al” Gandy, Retired Chief Investigator, State Attorney’s Office Second Judicial Court 
• Jeanine Gauding, Retired Director, Consolidated Dispatch Agency 
• William Pascoe, Sergeant, Florida Highway Patrol 
• J.M. “Buddy” Phillips, “The Sheriff of Florida” *Awarded Posthumously 
• Dr. Jim Sewell, Retired Assistant Commissioner, Florida Department of Law Enforcement
• Kermit Washington, Fire Standards Coordinator, TCC Florida Public Safety Institute 

Read the full article at https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/chronicle/2022/02/22/tcc-honors-2022-group-honorees-heroes-public-safety/6776438001/

Corey Thornton, a motivator by trade and a performer at heart, speaks to young people in the language they’ve always understood — catchy music.

A recording artist and motivational speaker, the St. Pete native, travels to schools and venues all over the state, sharing his brand of “edutainment” to convey important and inspirational messages through song. In original tracks such as “School Rock,” he raps over a thumping beat, encouraging children to stay in school and stay focused on their dreams, while in “Cash Me In Da Library,” he sings about the value of reading skills.

“You can’t just be a motivational speaker these days,” he said. “You’ve got to have a little something extra to draw them in. Do the songs, earn their respect, and I could talk to them.”

During his middle school days in the musical theater program, Thornton took up jazz, tap, and acting before attending the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High. Later, while working at an academy program for at-risk youths, Thornton saw too many kids who had made bad decisions and wanted to motivate them to stay on the right track.

“I saw firsthand them being locked up away from their parents for a while because of the choices that they made,” he said. “As a musical artist, I thought, let me write about what they’re going through and what it’s like in this facility being locked up, and try to reach the kids before they end up in that program.”

Almost two decades later, Thornton, 44, still performs “individualized” concerts, tailoring his approach to the needs of his young audiences by writing and performing songs that address specific issues.

“We base our concerts based on what each school is struggling with,” he explained. “They’ll say, ‘Ok, we’ve had some problems with bullying going on. Can you rap some songs that talk about bullying and what it’s like to show respect to each other?’ Then I would talk to the students, like a motivational speaking engagement, about what I just rapped about.”

The focus of these performances could be about criticizing bullying, boosting school attendance, or even passing the Florida Standard Assessment tests.

“I would relieve a lot of anxiety and stress on the students when I come in to pump them up and let them know, ‘Hey, I’ve been there, done that, but if you take these simple steps, you can pass the test!’”

Though the pandemic has made things more challenging for Thornton to perform, it has not deterred him. In 2020, he put out motivational speaking clips that the schools would play in the classrooms and even did some virtual concerts. In the past year, however, he has been able to give concerts outdoors on school grounds in person, which he believes is essential in conveying the full energy of the performance.

To help get his messages across, he has also partnered with the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas, which provides funding for many educational programs in the county. At the beginning of every school year, the organization sponsors Thornton to spread his musical messages to 10 to 15 schools around Pinellas.

“They know that music is the key to reach our next generations,” Thornton said, “so they partnered with me, a motivational speaking artist, and we got together and produced a song to encourage students to go to school, which is called “Every Day Counts.”

Also, in partnership with JWB, Thornton wrote a song encouraging students to log on and do their schoolwork whenever they must attend classes remotely. He has even teamed up with Heinemann Publishing for his biography “Rapping for Kids: Corey’s Story,” a book in the grade four Fountas & Pinnell Classroom™ (FPC) Guided Reading Collection.

“Right now, a lot of people are struggling with their reading skills across the United States, so they make books to inspire students to read,” he said. “And what a way to partner with me, to show them a positive guy that goes out to rap! They wrote a book on my life — going out to schools to perform for students — and they used my book to help teach fourth graders how to read.”

Heinemann printed one million copies in early 2020 and distributed them to schools across the country.

“When they did that, that’s when my emails started blowing up for virtual concerts and gigs in different schools!” Thornton said.

His biography has attracted far-reaching attention. He got the chance to shine in the national spotlight when he appeared on Good Morning America in the summer of 2020, talking about his goal to motivate children through his music. Thornton also spins as a DJ at various events, including weddings, parties, and corporate functions.

“Parks and venues and anything family entertainment,” he said, “because I keep all the music clean, and I keep everybody engaged.”

Not only has Thornton developed a following with his music on YouTube and Spotify, but more rewarding for him, he has made lifelong fans of school kids that he’s touched through his music and lyrics. Many reach out to him years after graduating, having found success in their lives and fulfilling careers.

“They’ll be like, ‘Thank you for motivating me when I was in school — now I really, really understand what you were talking about because I’m living it!’” he said. “That makes me feel good. I just keep pushing with the mission!”

Read the full article at https://theweeklychallenger.com/motivating-the-youth-through-music/

This week’s Everyday Hero is an educator dedicated to fighting a battle faced by far too many children.

Julie Christman is the Literacy Director at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Suncoast in Largo.

“I am honored to be the guardian of a fantastic literacy program that I got to design,” Christman said. “We were awarded a grant by the juvenile welfare board two years ago to start in three clubs.”

The success of that program, called “unlock reading,” has now moved to eight clubs.

Christman is a champion of literacy for kids and a tireless one as well.

Serving grades “K through 12,” she says the importance of reading cannot be stressed enough.

“Reading is everything,” she said. “Reading is the foundation upon which all other essential skills are built. And reading literary is the great equalizer.”

She says nationwide 50 percent of our children are not reading at grade level.

“That statistic is compounded by poverty so 80 percent of children who are under served are not reading proficiently.”

The program is designed to be fun while they learn.

“To see kids grow in one to four months that they’ve been with us,” she said. “They’ve grown on average a year in reading skills.”

Kids can chart their success which brings great joy. As does the coveted certificate of achievement.

For Christman, this is what it’s all about.

“To graduate third graders at reading level and to graduate high school on time,” she said. “And we are making that happen.”

Read the full article at https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/01/12/everyday-hero–keeping-reading-in-the-forefront

Like a professional athlete calling it a career at the top of their game, Pinellas County Schools (PCS) Superintendent Dr. Michael A. Grego announced he is stepping down from his role after 10 years of leading the district.

Grego announced Thursday that after serving 42 years in Florida public education, and the last 10 as Pinellas County’s superintendent, the 2021-22 school year would be his last. His retirement officially begins on July 1.

Grego told the Catalyst that in light of the district’s recent successes, and with a clear path to build on that momentum moving forward, he felt the time was right for the sun to set on a long and fulfilling career.

“I just think it’s a good time where things are clicking, and every aspect of our school district is moving in a positive direction,” said Grego. “What better time to hand off the baton to the next person.”

Academically, Grego said PCS is second to none. He meant that literally, as PCS announced Wednesday that its graduation rate set a new record. The county’s graduation rate is also the highest among Florida’s 10 largest districts and tops every district in the Tampa Bay region.

Grego found it difficult to name his proudest achievement. He had several options.

During Grego’s tenure, the graduation rate improved from 70% to 92%. The graduation rate amongst the county’s Black students rose from just 56% to 86.3%, and the Hispanic graduation rate improved from 63% to 92%.

When Grego took the helm, the graduation rate for non-English speaking students was just 40%. Today it is just under 84%.

Grego also noted that enrollment in Advanced Placement courses jumped 79% over the last 10 years.

“Which is an unbelievable statistic,” said Grego. “We have over 13,000 students engaged in some level of college-level courses.”

Grego said PCS has also eliminated over 20 D and F-rated schools, and there is no longer a school with an F grade in the district.

“We came in, and we collectively teamed to really try and hit every single factor in our school district,” he added.

Grego said modernizing the district’s facilities was another major focus during his tenure, and every school under his purview has undergone enhancements. PCS invested over $750 million updating its schools, he said – and for Clearwater and Largo High Schools and Pinellas Park Middle, modernization required building completely new facilities.

“We’re leaving things in great shape,” said Grego. “We’ve built so many systems and all of our divisions – our human resources and finances are in very good condition – it’s a very healthy district. We’ve hit every chord.”

While PCS has realized drastic improvements during hiss tenure, Grego also had to navigate the district through incredible challenges. He said that societal issues permeate public education, which was clear during the last two years of the pandemic. He said it was also evident with the Great Recession and the current affordable housing crisis.

Grego said societal challenges are ubiquitous in their impacts on public education, but education is also a stabilizing force that brings a sense of normalcy to the surrounding community.

“Our district’s done a great job to keep pushing forward, and nothing has fallen backward,” he said. “It’s the nature of educators – they are complete overachievers, and they do a remarkable job.”

Grego said he has no specific retirement plans yet and looks forward to his last six months with PCS. He said he wanted to give the district enough time to conduct a thorough and transparent search for his successor. Grego said he would work with the school board in any way possible to ensure the district never takes a step backward and noted the trust and strong relationship he built with the board over the years.

“I feel like I have a pretty good handle on what it takes to be an effective superintendent. But ultimately, it’s their decision.”

Grego said the one thing he has tried to impress upon students and faculty is to “dream big.” He said he tried to create a school system to foster those dreams and prepare every student for college, or more importantly, life. He said he is a firm believer that if you challenge students, they will rise to the task.

“If there’s a message, it’s centered around expectation and a belief in yourself that you can be and do anything you want to do. Just continue to work hard for it, and it will come your way.”

Read the full article at https://stpetecatalyst.com/pinellas-schools-superintendent-mike-grego-announces-retirement/

A Pinellas Park family got a big gift this Christmas, one they could share with their neighbors.

The Juvenile Welfare Board Mid-County Community Council and City of Pinellas Park teamed up to put on a parade in the Arias family’s honor. Every year the Council selects a family to adopt during the holidays. This year it was the Arias family, who stood by their son’s side as he fought cancer. 

Shortly after his first birthday, Rey Arias started getting sick. By the time he was 18 months old, they learned he had lymphoma. His mother, Kenia, had to quit her job to care for him and their family of six. 

“He’s doing well. Last year it was a different story, but this year he gets to stay home with us,” said Kenia. While Rey’s cancer is now in remission, the family lives with the uncertainty that it could come back as they struggle with piling debt.

But, this Christmas, they got some help. The Council helped Santa get them gifts and a tree to put them under. They topped it all off with a parade featuring the City of Pinellas Park Fire and Police Departments, City officials, and Santa Claus. Rey even got to take a ride around the block on the fire engine and wear his own hard hat. 

The celebration went through The Lodges at Pinellas Park. It’s an affordable apartment complex offering homes for lower-income families, free literacy tutoring, job training classes, and more. 

In addition to holiday gifts for the Arias family, JWB also gave away free books to all Lodges’ children who attended the parade.

To view the news story, visit https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellas-park-parade-little-boy-in-remission/67-6141e31a-782a-40fd-ad31-981c3cbfa312

Fresh off a fiscal year during which St. Pete Free Clinic (SPFC) distributed a record 20.4 million pounds of food throughout Pinellas County to address rising food insecurity, the organization is poised to push through the holiday season and into a new year responding to ongoing increased demand for basic needs.

Over the last year, the cost of housing, groceries, healthcare, transportation and daycare have increased by double-digit percentage points, making the basics unaffordable for Pinellas County’s “asset limited-income constrained-employed,” or ALICE population (a coin termed by the United Way), a population that was already living paycheck to paycheck pre-Covid. Inflation coupled with wage stagnation, which widely persists even amid labor shortages, means that many individuals and families are facing impossible choices like paying their increased rent or putting food on the table.

To meet sharply increased and persistent community needs, SPFC has significantly stepped up its efforts to provide nutritious food for triple as many Pinellas County residents as it was pre-Covid, as well as has increased by more than a third its number of new patients being seen in the organization’s Health Center, which provides primary care, dental care and no-cost prescription medication for uninsured adults.

Just two years ago, SPFC, which also operates one of the county’s largest food banks, distributed 11.3 million pounds of food throughout St. Petersburg and surrounding areas. Now, distributing double as much food, thanks to increased funding from the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB), SPFC leaders do not see a slowdown coming any time soon.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2021, hourly wages in the US increased by 3.6%. However, current rates of inflation gave the average worker a 2% pay cut. The reality is that nearly 50% of our neighbors in Pinellas County – our teachers, baristas, hospital support professionals, security guards, restaurant servers – work hard every day, sometimes holding more than one job, and still have to make tough choices each month, like whether to pay the utility bill or put gas in the car to get to work.

SPFC wants to be sure our neighbors don’t need to make those kinds of choices. We provide nutritious food, no-cost prescription drug support, healthcare and housing for those recovering from substance use, to help people fill gaps, stay healthy, and ease the stress of untenable circumstances.  

JWB CEO Beth Houghton shared, “Families were struggling before Covid, but the pandemic has created a tsunami of unprecedented need. Ensuring children have adequate and nourishing food is one of our top priorities. Without it, they cannot learn, grow, or thrive, and their physical and mental health suffers. The JWB Board understands this, and has supported increased investments to ensure no Pinellas child goes hungry.”

JWB provides funding for Pinellas nonprofits, including SPFC, who serve tens of thousands of children and their families annually. Over the past two years, JWB’s investments and collective efforts, through the Pinellas Childhood Hunger Initiative, have provided five million nourishing meals to children.

In addition to expansions in its distribution of nutritious food, prescription support and healthcare, because of an unexpected and sizable donation, SPFC is gearing up to deliver major relief to women in need of feminine hygiene products and families who need diapers. Considered “luxury items,” feminine hygiene products have become so unaffordable that women and girls often skip school or work because they do not have these products on hand and cannot afford to acquire them.

Further, the increased cost of diapers means that one in three families cannot access this basic need for their infants and toddlers. No diapers means no capability to drop children off at daycare, which means a parent skips work and skips getting paid.

It’s an impossible cycle. The cost of basics like feminine hygiene and diapers contribute to women not being able to join or re-join the workforce, yet if they’re not able to secure and maintain employment that pays them a living wage, they continue not to be able to afford these critical supports, let alone put groceries on the table or pay their rent.

With the support of generous donors, funders like the Juvenile Welfare Board, and other community partners, SPFC is prepared to steadily serve Pinellas County’s neighbors in need during the holiday season and beyond.

For more information about SPFC or to donate to our Give Hope campaign, please visit www.thespfc.org 

Read the full article at https://stpetecatalyst.com/community-voices-st-pete-free-clinic-provides-for-basic-needs/

Back in 2007, the Jacksonville region’s child welfare district had many of the same problems that now vex the foster care system in Pinellas and Pasco counties.

More than 2,100 children were living in group homes or with foster parents or relatives because investigators believed they weren’t safe at home. Case managers struggled to manage heavy caseloads and find beds for every child.

The high number of children living in out-of-home care also ate up the agency’s budget, leaving little to pay for the social services that could have kept families together.

Jacksonville’s lead agency, Family Support Services of North Florida, took action to solve those problems — and that could serve as a blueprint for when it takes over the troubled Pinellas and Pasco child welfare system in January.

The agency obtained $2 million in state and national grants to set up robust social services programs to help families in Duval and Nassau counties whose children were at risk of removal because of issues like substance abuse, domestic violence and extreme poverty.

By 2009, the number of children in out-of-home care there had plummeted to below 700 and today remains below 1,000.

Family Support Services will take over the $80 million annual contract to run foster care in Pinellas and Pasco on Jan. 1. Its leader believes that same model can work here, where more than 2,600 children are currently separated from their families in what is the biggest child welfare district in Florida.

“That is the hard place a lot of agencies find themselves in,” said president and CEO Jenn Petion about Pinellas’ and Pasco’s high number of children in care. “When we were able to cut the out-of-home care population in Duval by more than 50 percent, that created a financially stable system for us.”

Family Support Services is taking over from Eckerd Connects, which learned in November that the state will not renew its contract after receiving reports from Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri that a child was injured and another overdosed while they were staying overnight in an unlicensed agency office.

Eckerd Connects is also walking away from its $87 million contract to provide child welfare services in Hillsborough County, which expires in June 2022.

For years, the Clearwater nonprofit has struggled to find long-term beds and homes for Tampa Bayteenagersin its care, who instead end up sleeping in offices.

Reducing the number of children in the system’s care won’t be easy. Pinellas and Pasco ranked first and third respectively in the state for how many investigations resulted in the removal of children alleged to be the victims of abuse or neglect.

More than 1,200 children were removed from their families in the two counties from October 2020 through September 2021. Pinellas and Pasco are among seven Florida counties where child protective investigators are trained and supervised by the local sheriff’s office. In other communities, investigators work for the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Petion said the removal rate is something that “does need fixing.” She has met with Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office officials, who she said want front-end services that can trust if they decide not to remove children and leave them at home.

The approach means that even children considered at high risk of abuse can be left in the home — provided those families have a safety net of social services and are frequently monitored by certified case managers and others.

“If we did not provide intensive services, those children would all be candidates to be removed,” she said.

A former case manager herself, Petion said she understands the instinct to be cautious and take a child away from a potentially harmful situation. But too often, she said, the trauma children suffer by being removed from their parents is just as bad.

“So we’re all going to get comfortable with some level of risk,” she said. “Knowing that we’re able to do a lot to safely wrap services around that child, and once we know that system is in place, that is going to be strong and sound, it’s not going to feel as risky.”

The decision by Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris to appoint a Jacksonville agency to run foster care in Tampa Bay for the next five years raised some eyebrows. Florida’s privatized child welfare model is intended to put control of foster care in the hands of local agencies that know their community.

Roy Miller, president of Tallahassee nonprofit American Children’s Campaign, said Family Support Services may have succeeded in north Florida because it fit the model of a local agency running a small child welfare district.

That won’t be the case once it takes over the Pinellas-Pasco district, where three other agencies have struggled to keep vulnerable children safe before losing their contract. That includes Eckerd Connects, which mostly provided services to children in the juvenile justice system until it was appointed lead agency in 2008, Miller said.

“DCF’s contracting is changing the model; they’re growing larger and larger (agencies) that have fewer ties to the area,” Miller said. “Where they have changed the model, they have not met with success.”

Petion, who grew up in Pinellas and graduated from Northside Christian School, said local leaders will be asked to join her agency’s governing board to give the community more say in how foster care is run. Her agency is working hard to meet leaders of local agencies, case management organizations and other key players in the child welfare arena, such as Beth Houghton, executive director of the Juvenile Welfare Board.

Houghton’s agency has committed to spend $28 million of its $92 million budget on programs and services aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. That includes programs where nurses and social workers make home visits to families with children and expectant mothers, and a program that provides support for family members who agree to care for children rather than see them placed in foster care.

“While it will be a significant challenge to stand up the new child welfare lead agency on such a short time frame, the Juvenile Welfare Board and our partners remain committed to providing our support,” Houghton said in an email.

New lead foster agencies typically have months to plan an orderly transition. Petion’s was given one month.

The agency’s first step will be to try to reduce caseloads by finding permanent homes for several hundred children who are close to exiting the foster care system either through reunification or adoption but are just lacking final paperwork, Petion said. That should take the pressure off case managers and allow them to focus on their more difficult cases.

Her agency is also in the process of hiring case managers, supervisors and other staffers, many of whom were already working in the system and are familiar with the children in their caseload. Eckerd Connects sent more than 230 notices to employees on Nov. 2 informing them that their employment will be terminated on Dec. 31.It was not known how many may end up working for Family Support Services.

Petion said taking the contract was not about expanding her agency, but instead about answering a call for help. She is proud that even though the state recognizes that her agency is underfunded, it has never asked for so-called risk-pool money, a fund intended to help agencies that run up a shortfall or face an influx of foster kids.

“We were completely willing to just be a partner from afar and share our model that we believe works in preserving families, strong collaboration, innovation,” she said. “But when the community really wanted us to play a bigger role, we said we’d do our due diligence and see what we could do.”

To view the full article, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2021/12/14/jacksonville-agency-believes-it-can-fix-pinellas-pascos-child-welfare-woes/

Florida’s privatized child welfare system is supposed to put control of foster care in the hands of local agencies who know their community.

But after terminating Clearwater nonprofit Eckerd Connects, the Florida Department of Children and Families seems set to choose a provider from outside of Tampa Bay for the $80 million contract to run foster care in Pinellas and Pasco.

The department has not released the names of the agencies that bid for the contract, but none of the three that made presentations Wednesday to Secretary Shevaun Harris and other department officials at a meeting in Largo are local.

The presentations were made by Kids Central, based in Wildwood, Fla., Family Support Services of Northeast Florida, which runs foster care in Duval and Nassau counties, and Lydia Home, an agency headquartered in Chicago.

Of the three, Kids Central can claim the closest geographical tie to Pinellas and Pasco, which are administered as a single child welfare circuit. Kids Central serves as the lead foster care agency for a five-county circuit that runs from Marion County south to Hernando on Pasco’s northern border.

The state announced Nov. 1 that it would not renew Eckerd Connects’ contract after receiving reports from Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri that a child was injured and another overdosed while they were staying overnight in an unlicensed agency office. The nonprofit has faced criticism for a handful of high profile deaths of children under its watch and struggled to find long-term placements for teenagers who ended up sleeping in offices. It has since announced it will not ask the state to to extend its $86 million Hillsborough contract.

The Clearwater nonprofit’s contract was set to expire Dec. 31, leaving the state facing a time crunch. On Nov. 5, it announced an emergency bidding process for a five-year contract that gave interested parties just a week to respond.

This has alarmed some child welfare experts who fear the state will award a long-term contract without adequately vetting applicants and without giving stakeholders and the public enough time to provide feedback. Representatives of some local social services agencies were surprised on Wednesday when they were given only three hours’ notice about the Largo meeting.

Under Florida law, the state could appoint a receiver to administer the foster care system on a temporary basis. Another option would be for the circuit’s Community Alliance, a group that includes the Juvenile Welfare Board and other stakeholders, to work with the state on an alternative model to run the system.

Roy Miller, president of Tallahassee nonprofit American Children’s Campaign, said he understands that the state feels it needs to move quickly, but said it would make sense to take more time for such a critical decision.

“The speed in which this is happening is shocking,” said Miller.

The appointment of Eckerd Connects to its Hillsborough contracting 2014 was done at the end of a nine-month process, said Robin Rosenberg, deputy director of Florida’s Children First, a statewide advocacy group. The community needs time to look at how well agencies have performed, she said, and the one chosen should reflect the community’s priorities for how often children are placed in group homes and how much the agency prioritizes reunifying families over finding adoptive parents.

The state’s decision not to announce the names of the bidding agencies is also disappointing, she said.

“This secrecy where they’re not publicly releasing the names before they’re announcing who is getting the contract is the antithesis of transparency,” she said.

Department officials did not respond to a phone call and email requesting comment. The Tampa Bay Times has made several requests under public records law for a list of bidders.

Lydia Home, while based in Chicago, has a Florida connection. It is the parent organization of Safe Families for Children, which provides social services to families at risk of having their children removed. It has seven offices in Florida with roughly 25 employees and more than 400 volunteers, said Communications Director Cheri Jimenez.

“Safe Families is well established throughout the state,” she said. “We have worked very closely with thechild welfare system.”

John Cooper, the chief executive officer of Kids Central, said his agency is best suited of the three applicants to run foster care in Pinellas and Pasco under the community-based care model.

He said he has relationships with several key social services providers in the two counties. If selected, he would appoint an executive director and governing board local to Tampa Bay.

“I’m not going to be making decisions,” he said. “I would have a leader on the ground in (the circuit) being engaged and being visible.”

Officials from Family Support Services of Northeast Florida confirmed they had bid, but declined to comment further.

It’s unclear whether the Jacksonville agency would be eligible to win the contract because it serves as the lead agency in the Jacksonville area. Florida law states that a lead foster care agency should be no bigger than two contiguous judicial circuits, a stipulation intended to stop bigger agencies from winning multiple foster care contracts across most of the state.

In the more than two decades since the state privatized its foster care system, half a dozen agencies have expanded by winning a second contract with the state, a trend that goes against the principle of local control, said Miller.

“DCF is appointing these larger conglomerates that are going to struggle to provide consistent quality services,” Miller said. “As the conglomerates grow, they are more and more removed from the community.”

To view the full article, visit https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/2021/11/19/rush-to-appoint-foster-care-agency-in-pinellas-pasco-could-backfire-child-welfare-experts-warn/