For nearly 80 years, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) has been investing in children’s futures to strengthen our community. These investments ensure children are ready to learn, thrive, and succeed in homes, schools, and neighborhoods that are healthy and safe. Last year, JWB invested in 98 quality programs with local nonprofit agencies serving more than 77,000 children and families!
Each year JWB recognizes individuals who work in these programs with the KidsFirst Award: “boots on the ground” professionals, like Paul Kleeman, who consistently go above and beyond to always put children first!
Paul is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. After his service, he wanted to give back and was drawn to working with students in the City of Clearwater’s out-of-school-time programs. What began as a short-term volunteer opportunity became his personal mission and passion project!
Since 2019, Paul has worked professionally tutoring hundreds of Clearwater students. Time with a tutor isn’t often on a child’s list of favorite things to do after school. But when Paul walks in, the kids excitedly call out, “Mr. Paul, Mr. Paul! Work with me!” They describe him as “my mentor, friend, and ‘School Dad!’”
Great Day Live invited Paul to be part of their special broadcast dedicated to veterans and to honor him as the first of JWB’s 2025 KidsFirst Award recipients!
WMNF’s Sarah Goebel reports on the Juvenile Welfare Board’s Children’s Mental Health Initiative, providing children treatment and support for mental health issues. Starting at 2:20.
Integrated mental and behavioral health care with regular doctors’ offices has proven to be very successful in recent years.
The Children’s Medical Center says kids and teens are more comfortable in environments they are familiar with, and having the resources to deal with mental health at a regular doctors’ office means less traveling and less time to get care.
Dr. Steve O’Brien is a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience working with kids and families. He says since COVID, there has been less stigma around mental health treatment and any new facilities will help increase capacity for those that need help and to find it.
“There is a need for more accessible counseling,” said O’Brien. “So, in other words, there are more people in mental health than there were years ago. However, they can often also be difficult for people to access either because of insurance issues, money issues and issues with transportation. Even though it is true, there is a lot of online therapy. I find that teens tend to go one way or the other when it comes to online therapy. Some of them like it and others want that in-person experience.”
When it comes to mental health, in-person care is exactly what they will get in the new Children’s Medical Center behavioral health wing.
As we continue moving through National Volunteer Month, JWB celebrates the ongoing support from St. Petersburg Fire Rescue (SPFR)!
SPFR recently sent 18 helpful cadets to JWB to pack Welcome Baby Bags in support of the Sleep Baby Safely Campaign on Monday, April 21st. The cadets worked efficiently as a team, packing 500 bags so quickly that they had time left over during their visit to also pack Children’s Mental Health Initiative materials for the upcoming NAMI Pinellas Walk!
Annually, about 7,000 parents of newborns are given face-to-face education to protect babies from suffocation during sleep and Welcome Baby Bags filled with life-saving items, including a Sleep Me This Side Up onesie, Alone-Back-Crib sleep sack, and more.
JWB is grateful for this collaboration with St. Pete Fire Rescue in supporting our safe-sleep campaign and training their new cadets.
Karen Boggess is JWB’s Chief Operating Officer. Boggess holds a master’s degree in social work and started as a Senior Contract Manager. She continued in Program positions of increasing responsibility and led the creation of the Quality Early Learning Initiative. In 2021, Boggess was promoted to Chief Program Officer. In her new role, she leads the following units: Program Administration, Community Engagement, Community Collaborations, Family Services Initiative, and Performance & Evaluation.
One of JWB’s most crucial initiatives is our Preventable Child Deaths Campaign, which seeks to raise awareness around the unfortunate number of deaths among children from easily avoidable causes such as infant unsafe sleep practices, drowning, and abusive head trauma. Another preventable yet tragic cause of early loss of life is pediatric vehicular heatstroke, which occurs when a child is left alone in a hot car.
April is Hot Car Death Prevention Month
April has been designated by the State of Florida as “Hot Car Death Prevention Month.” In recognition, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue joined forces with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) for a powerful press conference.
Members of the community and media gathered at the St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Master Station on Thursday, April 17th to learn startling facts and life-saving strategies to prevent pediatric heatstroke in vehicles.
Speakers included:
Fire Rescue Chiefs Keith Watts and Lindsay Judah
JHACH Emergency Center Physician Dr. Danielle Mercurio
JHACH Injury Prevention Program Manager and Safe Kids Supervisor Petra Vybiralova Stanton.
Hot Car Facts
Each speaker at the press briefing shared crucial facts for parents and caregivers to be mindful about when it comes to hot cars. These facts include:
Since 1998, more than 1,000 children in the U.S. have died from preventable heatstroke due to being left in cars.
A child’s body temperature can spike far more rapidly than that of an adult. This is exacerbated by the rapid heat increase inside a car on a hot Florida day.
Temperatures inside a car can rise as much as 20 degrees in 10 minutes even on a day with forecasts as mild as 80 degrees outside the vehicle.
Life-Saving Tips
While some incidents result from leaving a child in a car “just for a minute,” many are caused by forgetfulness or a child climbing into an unlocked car unnoticed. This tragedy can happen to anyone—which is why creating awareness habits is so crucial.
You can help prevent pediatric vehicular heatstroke by taking these simple actions:
Never leave your child unattended in a car, even for a short period of time.
Always check the back seat before leaving your car.
Place a personal item (like your purse or wallet) in the back seat or set alarms to create a reminder.
Keep cars locked and keys out of children’s reach at all times.
Never let children play in or around vehicles.
Call 911 immediately if you see a child alone in a car.
The event included a heartbreaking live simulation that featured a parked vehicle with a visible thermostat. While the outside temperature read 82 degrees, the interior temperature had been gradually increasing during each speaker’s remarks—in only 20 minutes, it had reached 102 degrees.
The simulation illustrated just how rapidly temperatures can escalate—and how dangerous even a short delay can be.
JWB is continually grateful for its partnership with St. Petersburg Fire Rescue and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in spreading the messages shared in this press briefing.
For important strategies to prevent heatstroke deaths in hot cars, click here.
For more helpful information or resources on JWB’s Preventable Child Death Campaign, click here.
JWB Director of Public Policy Rebecca Gross Tieder shared her perspective on education and taking joy in one’s work on the “Finding Joy in Education” podcast, hosted by 2022 Florida Teacher of the Year Sarah Painter.
Painter and Tieder, alongside Senior Professional Development Coordinator for Pinellas County Schools Robin Ford and parent Raizel Turner, had a lively and insightful discussion, pulling together life experience and a deep understanding of the world of education.
The podcast, published by Pinellas County Schools, typically features a heartfelt conversation with a parent and an industry expert on what joy in education looks and feels like. Listen to the episode on Spotify here.
The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County will host a series of family-friendly events to celebrate and support grandparents raising their grandchildren.
The event will feature family resources, free health screenings, family-friendly activities and giveaways of non-perishable food boxes, hurricane supplies, and more. The events are also open to all relative caregivers who are raising their nieces, nephews, or siblings in their homes.
Dates for the remaining Grand Families Days are:
• Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
CAP | Union Academy Family Center, 401 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Tarpon Springs.
• Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, 4951 78th Ave. N., Pinellas Park.
For questions, contact Community Engagement Manager Yaridis Garcia at 813-381-2407 or ygarcia@jwbpinellas.org.
Karen Boggess, who has been with JWB for nearly 20 years, holds a master’s degree in social work and started as a senior contract manager. She continued in program positions of increasing responsibility and led the creation of the Quality Early Learning Initiative. In 2021, Boggess was promoted to chief program officer.
In her new role as COO, Boggess will lead the performance of the following units reporting to her: Program Administration, Community Engagement, Community Collaborations, Family Services Initiative and Performance & Evaluation.
In honor of the annual Week of the Young Child, a nationwide initiative supporting early childhood education, we’re highlighting the work done this week and all year round by a local stalwart: Turbo Babies, fueled by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, which encourages and supports educational growth for children ages 0-3 years old.
Turbo Babies has announced an interactive campaign and some big-time giveaways as they participate in The Week of the Young Child, which runs through Friday, April 11. Each day this week, parents, families, caregivers and childcare providers are encouraged to have educational moments and share them through photo or video with Turbo Babies each day, with the chance to win several fantastic giveaways as part of the fun.
Win fun giveaways through Turbo Babies
Encouraging “learning through everyday moments,” each day of the week presents a new opportunity to take normal moments and turn them into opportunities to teach children something new by including them in what you’re doing. Whether it’s having a sing-along, talking about your meal, or just doing some good old coloring, there’s a new theme each day that makes it easy to incorporate learning into otherwise mundane activities.
And the cherry on top of the educational sundae: Turbo Babies will be giving away prizes in a drawing among participants. One lucky family will win a full Lovevery Play Kit, tailored to the age and interests of the child. Meanwhile, one lucky childcare provider will win family passes to Great Explorations Children’s Museum for every single member of their class!
While the activities surrounding Week of the Young Child are fun ways to teach children, Turbo Babies points out how vitally important it is to incorporate moments like this into the lives of young children every day. According to recent research, 80% of brain growth for children happens in the first three years of life, making those formative years crucial to a child’s future.
Elicia Hinson, Senior Marketing Associate for the Juvenile Welfare Board, said parents and caregivers are always shocked by that statistic, which makes the work of JWB and Turbo Babies all the more important.
“It’s so much to be happening in the first three years of life,” she said, “but I think it’s also a motivating statistic. It makes people ask, ‘What should I be doing during this time?’ ‘How can I make the most of this time?’ And it’s never too late. There are opportunities every day.”
Make everyday moments educational opportunities
Hinson and Turbo Babies work to help parents and educators find easy and natural ways to have those teachable moments with kids. And the key, Hinson said, isn’t that you need to make a separate time for teaching. It’s far easier to just turn everyday moments in educational opportunities – even something as simple as including your child verbally and visually as you do laundry, prepare a meal, or read a story.
The 4-point mantra at Turbo Babies is: Tune in. Talk and repeat. Take turns. Take time.
“Every day there are so many chances for teachable moments, and they should be fun,” Hinson said. “It’s about the moments that are already happening – when you’re in the car, when you’re at the grocery store, when you’re doing laundry. Incorporate your baby and allow them to be a part of that. Those are teachable, everyday moments.”
Through these activities and campaigns, Turbo Babies hopes to show caregivers that education doesn’t have to be boring, difficult, or straight from a textbook. It can be easy and fun for children to learn, and it starts from birth. Even just hearing new words helps their brain grow: at age one, children recognize about 50 words, and by age three they can recognize nearly 1,000 words.
Learn more about Turbo Babies, fueled by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, at turbobabies.com. To join in on the fun for Week of the Young Child and enter the giveaway, check out this breakdown from Turbo Babies.
