Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month is observed every August. It is a time dedicated to raising awareness about the critical role eye health plays in a child’s overall well-being and development, particularly in relation to learning and vision-related issues. 

Here’s why it’s important:

• Impact on Learning: Undiagnosed or misdiagnosed vision problems can significantly affect a child’s ability to learn, with some issues being mistaken for other conditions like ADHD. 
• Early Detection: School eye screenings may not catch all vision problems, highlighting the need for comprehensive eye exams. 
• Overall Well-being: Eye health is crucial for a child’s development and overall well-being. 

Recognizing the importance of children’s vision health, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) invested $222,000 with Preserve Vision Florida’s “Seeing Our Bright Future” program in 2024 to provide vision screenings and follow-up to more than 4,200 children ranging in age from birth to 18. The program works in partnership with public and private schools, as well as with community organizations to bring Preserve Vision Florida (PVF) screening and treatment services to children throughout Pinellas County.

A child’s vision health is critical for classroom learning success, social skill development, and a sense of security, and both teachers and parents report positive changes in child school engagement after students receive screening and services through PVF.

While the vast majority of children screened can be assisted with a simple eye exam and glasses, with their highly sensitive digital screening equipment, PVF can identify critical eye issues that can endanger a child’s sight for life: These screenings can actually mean the difference between a sighted life or blindness.

And leading the charge at PVF is Pilar Bradley, the Family Services Manager for Preserve Vision Florida.

Pilar exemplifies the PVF mission to give every child a vision of their own bright future. Her title barely begins to capture the heart, hustle, and humanity she brings to her work.

• Children as young as one year can be identified with cataracts, retinal issues, and serious eye conditions that require expert diagnosis and treatment.
• For more than 13 years, Pilar has made it her mission to ensure that every child who needs eye care receives it.
• She has built and refined a process so effective that 90% of children referred for follow-up care actually receive it, compared to the national average of just 30%.
• She reaches out personally, educates parents, coordinates appointments, and removes every barrier that might stand between a child and a clear view of the world.
• One child Pilar has been helping for several years was born prematurely and developed cataracts; Pilar helped the family become enrolled with a pediatric ophthalmologist who will follow the case until the child is old enough to have surgery. When the child required special lenses that cost $500 and potentially had to be replaced every six months, Pilar solicitated the aid of a foundation, physicians, and hospitals to provide new glasses as needed.

For more than 30 years, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County has used the annual KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Awards to recognize outstanding local professionals who provide direct services and work tirelessly to put children first.

For her unwavering dedication to giving each Pinellas child a clear vision of their future, Pilar Bradley is certainly worthy of one of our four 2025 KidsFirst awards!

Over the course of three weeks in July, the Juvenile Welfare Board’s (JWB) Summer Book Bus made 81 stops at community sites across Pinellas County and gave away 10,756 books to 5,378 eager young readers.

A partnership with Pinellas County Schools, the JWB Summer Book Bus visits underserved neighborhoods across Pinellas County to combat summer learning loss. It’s all part of JWB’s Early Readers Future Leaders Grade-Level Reading Campaign, helping mitigate summer learning loss while instilling a love of reading in kids of all ages. Reading on grade-level by the end of third grade is an important predictor of high school graduation and future success.

And that’s why, for each of the last eight summers, Pinellas parents and kids have been invited to hop aboard the JWB Book Bus to choose two free books. A retrofitted school bus turned mobile bookfair on wheels, the JWB Book Bus offers exciting reading choices for children from birth to 18. From animals to machines and from the Earth to the stars—whatever topic they want to read about, Pinellas kids will find titles they can’t wait to add to their home library

Dedicated volunteers—including elected officials, JWB Board and Legacy Board Members, and more—join us on the Book Bus each summer to help kids pick out their very own, brand-new books; they tell us that seeing that the joy and smiles on children’s faces as they peruse the bins full of books brings them back year after year.

With stops at community sites from Tarpon Springs to South St. Petersburg, the JWB Book Bus stops include public libraries, community recreation centers, neighborhood family centers, childcare centers, and more. See the full Book Bus Stop schedule here: https://www.jwbpinellas.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Book-Bus-Schedule-2025.pdf

This year JWB debuted the Meal Mobile, creating JWB-funded pop-up food pantries stocked by the St. Pete Free Clinic at 46 Book Bus sites along the way and giving away 3,945 boxes of shelf-stable food.

Knowing that children in Pinellas County face hunger every day—1 in 8 live in homes with low food security, meaning they do not have enough food at times for an active, healthy life—and that families are also facing rising costs for all their basic needs, adding the Meal Mobile to Book Bus stops helped ensure Pinellas kids had access to the nutrition they need to thrive over the summer.

As we observe BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month in July, we’d like to introduce you to Gabriella Moran, a trained Behavior Analyst and Classroom Consultant for Directions for Living’s First Five program.

But she is also so much more than that: Gabriella is a coach, a counselor, a problem-solver, and a steady hand for Pinellas children, parents, and educators.

Gabriella works one-on-one and in small groups with children who have experienced trauma. She helps these little ones build emotional regulation, self-advocacy, and the confidence to stay in their classrooms and succeed.

Of her work, Gabriella says, “Providing trauma-informed behavior analytics services to our youngest learners is not just my profession; it’s my passion.”

She teaches children social and communication skills, promoting positive interactions with peers, teachers, and family members. These skills are essential in pursuit of children developing meaningful relationships and participating more fully in their community, and – most importantly – being able to heal from past traumatic events and prevent future traumas.

One of Gabriella’s clients, a 4-year-old boy, had been expelled from multiple early learning centers due to challenging behaviors. His family was literally on the brink—at risk of losing their jobs and housing. Then Gabriella rolled up her sleeves. She worked closely with his teachers, partnered with his family, and crafted a plan that helped him navigate the hardest parts of his day. Because of her passion and dedication, he has successfully completed VPK, started kindergarten, and is thriving! That is the power of one person who refuses to give up on a child.

And she doesn’t stop there—Gabriella works closely with teachers and caregivers, equipping them with practical tools, offering encouragement, and creating plans tailored to each child’s unique needs and history. She creates safe spaces for learning and healing for children and adults.

In her parent education groups, families learn how to manage tantrums, co-regulate emotions, and navigate the beautiful chaos of early childhood. Gabriella’s invaluable lessons on reducing specific issues like bedtime tantrums, successful family outings, and supporting your child’s social-emotional growth through co-regulation, not only support the children’s mental health and well-being but also that of their caregivers. Families consistently say Gabriella’s support has been life-changing.

“While I hope I’m teaching my students something every day,” she says, “the truth is they’ve taught me more than I ever imagined about resilience, unconditional love, and strength that has nothing to do with size or age.”

For more than 30 years, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County has used the annual KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Awards to recognize outstanding social services professionals who provide direct services and work tirelessly to put children first. Gabriella Moran is certainly worthy of one of our four 2025 KidsFirst awards!

Watch ABC Action News coverage of the JWB Summer Book Bus.

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.

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.