We are pleased to announce that The Honorable Bruce Bartlett has joined the Juvenile Welfare Board in an ex-officio capacity as State Attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

For 28 years, Mr. Bartlett served as Chief Assistant State Attorney until his appointment as State Attorney of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on January 21, 2021.

Mr. Bartlett began his career with the Sixth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in 1979, where he rose to Division Director and then to Chief Assistant State Attorney in 1992. In his role as Chief Assistant State Attorney, he directly supervised 170 Assistant State Attorneys in Pinellas and Pasco counties and tried over 200 jury trials involving serious felonies.

During his career spanning four decades, Mr. Bartlett has held numerous professional memberships and received multiple awards. He has been a lecturer at Stetson University, instructor at St. Petersburg College and Pasco-Hernando Community College, and is currently on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission. He formerly served as Chair of Law Week for the Pinellas County Bar Association, Chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee (6-D), Chair of the Judicial Nominating Commission Sixth Judicial Circuit, and member of the Pinellas County Police Athletic League (PAL). He received the Outstanding Professionalism in the Practice of Law Award from the St. Petersburg Bar Association (2007), Richard T. Earle Jr. Barney Masterson Inn of Court Award Demonstrating Highest Degree of Professionalism in the Practice of Law (2004), and Elk Lodge 1224 Prosecutor of the Year (1994). Born in St. Petersburg, Bruce Bartlett received his Bachelor of Science from the University of South Florida and his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law. He is married with two adult children, and is a life-long resident of Pinellas County.

The Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. Barbara Morrison-Rodriguez in the position of Chief Evaluation and Innovation Officer. In her new position, Dr. Barbara Morrison-Rodriguez oversees JWB’s evaluation team and is responsible for developing, streamlining, and implementing program metrics across JWB’s portfolio. She also oversees JWB’s newest result area for Early Childhood Development, and plays a critical role in the Zero to Three Campaign. 

Prior to joining JWB’s executive leadership team, Dr. Morrison-Rodriguez served as President and CEO of BMR Consulting, LLC, since its founding in 2001. Her consulting was primarily focused with non-profit organizations and foundations in the Southeastern United States, as well as with federal agencies such as the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) and its grantee programs. In that role, she provided evaluation and accountability consultation and training for grantees of several foundations primarily in Florida, and has trained over 800 non-profit organizations in evaluation. Her areas of expertise include program evaluation, strategic planning, strategic grant making, program development, and Board development. 

In her 45 year career, she has been on the faculty of multiple colleges and universities, including Hunter College (CUNY), the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (NYC), State University of New York (Albany), the University of South Carolina (Columbia) where she held an endowed chair in Social Welfare, and the University of South Florida (Tampa) where she was Associate Dean of the Florida Mental Health Institute. In her career as a civil servant, Dr. Morrison-Rodriguez served as Director of Long Term Care for the New York State Office for Aging and Associate Commissioner for Long Term Care and Geriatrics at the New York State Office of Mental Health.  She co-authored a text book on research methods and has published several articles in the areas of research, aging, child welfare, and services to racial and ethnic minority populations. She earned her MA and PhD degrees in Social Welfare Research from the Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Douglass College, Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.  

We are pleased to announce that The Honorable Sara Mollo has joined the Juvenile Welfare Board in an ex-officio capacity as Public Defender for the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

In 2020, Sara Mollo was elected as Public Defender for the Sixth Judicial Circuit, serving Pinellas and Pasco counties. Ms. Mollo has practiced criminal law for over 20 years, serving as both a prosecutor and now as the Public Defender. This unique background has led her to a deeper understanding of the importance of justice for all.  She is well known as a fierce advocate for her clients and for seeking solutions for the misunderstood complexities of mental illness and poverty.

Ms. Mollo grew up in a military family; her father is a retired Lt. Colonel in the United States Army. She received her Doctorate degree from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. In 1997, she was admitted to the Florida and Missouri Bars and was appointed as Prosecutor. Two years later, she joined the Public Defender’s Office in Monroe County and, in 2002, she moved to Clearwater, joining the Sixth Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office.

Ms. Mollo is also Past President of the Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Legislative Co-Chair of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Humanitarian Award Recipient bestowed by the National Association of Mental Illness (NAMI), and Graduate of Leadership Pinellas Class of 2020.

Ms. Mollo believes that being a member of a vulnerable population doesn’t define you, but how we as a society treat the most vulnerable amongst us does.

The Juvenile Welfare Board recently recognized The Honorable Bob Dillinger for 20 years of dedicated service to Pinellas County children. The recognition occurred during the monthly JWB Board Meeting on December 10, 2020.

Mr. Dillinger has made it his life’s work to fight childhood hunger, to give hope to the vulnerable and underserved, and to keep children and families out of deeper-end services, such as foster care, jails, and mental health institutes.

Together with his wife Kay, they started the Beth Dillinger Foundation and its Nourish to Flourish program, which has provided more than 200,000 meals to feed hungry children. Their Foundation has also awarded dozens of Take Stock in Children scholarships, and their signature clothes closets – in place at the Public Defender’s Office, PACE Center for Girls, and Ready for Life – have restored dignity and hope to many.

Although Mr. Dillinger will be leaving our Board, his legacy will live on in the smiles and laughter of our county’s children: many will rest better tonight, their tummies full and their futures full of hope!

In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month 2020 (September 15 – October 15, 2020) the InterCultural Advocacy Institute, Empath Health, Juvenile Welfare Board, Moffitt Cancer Center, and the Family Healthcare Foundation partnered to host a series of Lunch and Learn events to celebrate the contributions of the Hispanic/Latinx community to the United States. Hundreds traveled with us virtually, learned from personal journeys, discussed current topics, discovered traditional recipes, and more!

In total, seven Lunch and Learn webinars were held, attracting more than 1, 750 Facebook Live views. Topics included: Hispanic Heritage Month Kickoff Event; A Conversation with Jacob Diaz, Ed.D.; The Taste of Hispanic/Latin Countries; The Latinx Community on Voting, Wealth and Health; Frida & Diego: A Virtual Tour (English); Celebracion con Frida y Diego (Espanol); and Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration. Valuable information was collected related to future topics for webinar and other educational events.

A special thanks to Abrazo a la Distancia, a workgroup formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer education, resources, and support to the Hispanic and Latinx communities.

More than 100 Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) teachers from across Pinellas County were celebrated during a drive-through appreciation event in their honor. As preschool teachers drove their cars parade-style through the parking lot of High Point Elementary, partners lined up in a show of support, waving signs and cheering them on.

The celebration included book and school supply giveaways, music, and a surprise visit by Raymond, the Tampa Bay Rays mascot. Dozens of partners joined in the festivities to let VPK teachers know that their work is essential and very much appreciated! 

The event was spearheaded by the Preschool Kindergarten Partnership and supported by numerous partners, including the Juvenile Welfare Board, Pinellas County Schools, Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas, Florida Department of Education/Office of Early Learning, R’Club Child Care, Lutheran Services Florida Head Start, Pinellas County Licensing Board, St. Petersburg College, USF St. Petersburg Family Study Center, Lakeshore Learning, Florida Association of EYC/Pinellas Chapter, Read Strong Pinellas, and Tampa Bay Rays.

To view the event photo album, visit: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=JWBPinellas&set=a.10158969580148586

In Pinellas County, an estimated 1 in 5 children do not get enough nourishing food on a regular basis and worry where their next meal will come from. Over half are eligible for Pinellas County Schools’ free or reduced price lunch program, and sometimes school meals are their only healthy food that day. 

The Juvenile Welfare Board and our Childhood Hunger Initiative partners are working collectively to fill the gaps, so all children have access to nourishing food when they are not in school, including weekends, holidays, and summer break. 

One collaborative effort to increase meals to kids during summer has been to grow and promote the federally-funded Summer BreakSpot program. Since 2014, over 3.5 million free summer meals have been distributed to Pinellas County children, an average of about 600,000 meals each year. This includes a total of 623,955 meals provided across 185 sites this past summer. The growth is the result of targeted marketing efforts and new partnerships with churches, libraries, and apartment complexes that have increased BreakSpot sites by 43 percent since 2014.