Protecting the Next Generation: How the Juvenile Welfare Board is Leading the Way to Counter 500,000 Daily Online Threats

My responsibility as JWB’s Interim CEO is two-fold: To spend Pinellas County tax dollars wisely while ensuring children are safe, healthy, and equipped to reach their full potential and grow up to become whatever they want to be.

Today’s children are immersed in a digital world where devices drive their learning, play, and social lives, fundamentally reshaping their reality and drastically shifting how they experience childhood. However, this environment also presents significant challenges and evolving dangers.

When the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) was created 80 years ago, “stranger danger” meant someone in a van offering candy to lure children away. Today, cyberbullies, human traffickers, and online predators can enter homes 24/7 through a child’s phone, computer, or gaming device. Left unchecked, it’s as risky as leaving a child’s bedroom window open or your front door unlocked.

“Stranger Danger” Has Moved Online

Every day on every device, online dangers threaten to harm our children:

• 500,000 predators are active online daily, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).
• 800,000 sex offenders are known and registered in the U.S. – 1,800 in Pinellas County alone – per the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR).
• 1,000 counts of child pornography were investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office last year, according to Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
• A child’s first exposure to pornography online starts as young as 5, per recent studies in the U.S., England, and Australia.

The threat is no longer a van in your neighborhood: It’s 500,000 predators online daily at any given time. These bad actors spread child sexual abuse material, threaten children’s mental health through cyberbullying and online harassment, and groom, sextort, and commit other sexual harms against children.

With children averaging 8 to 11 hours on devices daily—even higher during school breaks—studies show that spending just three hours online doubles their risk of depression and anxiety. This pervasive exposure prompted the U.S. Surgeon General to declare a national youth mental health crisis, all while suicide rates for minors have nearly doubled since 2000, making it the second leading cause of death for children and teens.

Law enforcement, legislators, and the legal community are working diligently to stop online crimes against children. But with 500,000 predators active online daily, prevention is key. To protect the next generation, we must arm parents and caregivers with knowledge and empower them to safeguard their children while online.

Bridging the Digital Divide | A Powerful Tool to Keep Kids Safe Online

Children are often more digitally proficient than the adults raising them. Case in point: an 11-year-old recently resolved an issue with my mobile phone that stumped my own service provider. This illustrates the growing gap between what parents know about technology and how their children actually use it.

To help bridge this digital divide, JWB discovered Parent ProTech, an expert-backed platform that equips families with practical tools to keep children safe and thriving in a digital-first world.

Their vast online library includes how-to guides, conversation starters, and safety recommendations on topics like parental controls, social media, AI, and more. Parent ProTech experts tirelessly scan the digital horizon, delivering timely and dynamic videos that move as fast as technology does. Families can also subscribe to the ProTech Playbook, an online newsletter that serves as a targeted alert system, unmasking emerging threats before they reach a child’s device.

Protecting Pinellas County’s next generation requires a united front. In a historic first for the nation, JWB is leading the way by removing all barriers and providing free Parent ProTech subscriptions to every Pinellas County household, ensuring universal access to critical online safety resources. This is your tax investment at work – equipping every family with the tools to navigate the digital world safely and protect children online, neighborhood by neighborhood.

This New Year, move beyond awareness to action. Pinellas County Residents: Access your free Parent ProTech subscription today for expert-led video guides and resources. Turn your resolution into protection for children and secure the digital future for our next generation at https://app.parentprotech.com/jwb.

The Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) has strengthened our community by investing in children for 80 years. JWB was created by Pinellas citizens—the first in the nation to tax themselves to secure brighter futures for children. JWB prevention and early intervention services support kids from their birth through adolescence – for the life of the child.

Michael G. Mikurak, JWB Interim CEO, leverages 30 years of global business expertise and 12 years of leadership on the JWB Board to champion children’s futures. Managing a $156M budget, Mikurak drives strategic partnerships and rigorous accountability to strengthen the lives of 80,000 children and families annually.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2026/01/05/free-tool-protect-online-dangers.html