Julie Goodrich is a 2023-2024 KidsFirst Award Winner

The Juvenile Welfare Board believes those who work to give children brighter futures deserve recognition.

Last week we were pleased to publicly announce our fourth and final 2023-2024 KidsFirst Awardee at a surprise presentation by our Chief Executive Officer, Beth Houghton.

An outstanding social service professional who consistently goes above and beyond to put children first, Julie Goodrich is a registered nurse with seven years experience at the Florida Department of Health’s Pinellas Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) team. In that time, Julie has supported and advocated for dozens of new mothers and their families—working with first-time moms through their pregnancies and until their children are two years old, developing enduring relationships.

Jann Gullick, who nominated Julie, described her as “an advocate, encourager, researcher, and educator.”

As we know, babies are biologically programmed to form attachments, and a strong emotional and physical attachment is critical to a child’s development. Julie devotes her whole self to teaching first-time moms techniques to promote this vital nurturing—and models those skills through the supportive and caring relationships she develops with her moms and their babies.

Over the two-plus years she works with them, Julie supports her families through the emotional, social, and physical challenges of becoming parents. She also nurtures the growth and development of their children from birth to age two, preparing these children for successful early childhood learning and beyond.

Julie is a passionate, tireless advocate for her NFP moms and families. She researches resources to help her moms meet not only their immediate but also their long-term needs and goals.

She works very closely with her moms to set goals for their education or employment and is a strong support and cheerleader, guiding them to realize their FULL potential. When Julie’s clients graduate from the NFP program, they have direction in their lives and the tools to successfully nurture healthy children and build strong families.

Julie also selflessly shares her years of experience with new nurses joining the NFP team, offering her knowledge and support. She has been instrumental in updating teaching resources in the past year—and that ultimately benefits all NFP families.

Please join us in congratulating our remarkable KidsFirst Awardee, whom we look forward to celebrating along with three other winners at our KidsFirst Awards Luncheon on April 26th!

View photos from the surprise award announcement.