Florida Senate - 2026                            (NP)    SR 1804
       
       
        
       By Senator Rouson
       
       
       
       
       
       16-02683-26                                           20261804__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the legacy of the Juvenile
    3         Welfare Board of Pinellas County.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, in the early 1940s, there were few alternative
    6  paths for troubled or delinquent children in Pinellas County
    7  other than incarceration, which was an issue recognized by
    8  juvenile court Judge Lincoln Bogue, and
    9         WHEREAS, in 1944, Judge Lincoln Bogue sought out solutions
   10  to the problem of at-risk children by working with a community
   11  advisory group to pursue funding from the Pinellas County
   12  Commission, and
   13         WHEREAS, Attorney Leonard Cooperman drafted legislation
   14  supported by the Pinellas County Legislative Delegation to
   15  create an independent special taxing district governed by an
   16  autonomous board to guard the rights and needs of children, and
   17         WHEREAS, Senator Henry Baynard sponsored Senate Bill 618,
   18  which passed on May 21, 1945, and its House companion was
   19  sponsored by Representative S. Henry Harris and passed the House
   20  of Representatives on May 24, 1945, and
   21         WHEREAS, on November 5, 1946, Pinellas County citizens
   22  ratified the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) Act, creating the
   23  nation’s first independent board dedicated to improving the
   24  lives and futures of children, and
   25         WHEREAS, in 1947, the JWB, chaired by Mailande Holland
   26  Barton, adopted its first budget and distributed funds to three
   27  agencies that served approximately 1,500 children, and
   28         WHEREAS, in 2025, the JWB served a total of 83,622 children
   29  through investments in 98 quality programs with 51 nonprofit
   30  agencies, providing prevention and early intervention services
   31  to assist children at all stages of life, from cradle to career,
   32  and
   33         WHEREAS, the JWB also serves as a convener, forging
   34  partnerships and leading initiatives to prevent needless
   35  childhood deaths, nurture early childhood development, champion
   36  children’s mental health, promote grade-level reading, and fight
   37  childhood hunger, NOW, THEREFORE,
   38  
   39  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   40  
   41         That the Juvenile Welfare Board is recognized for its 80
   42  year legacy of prioritizing children and for its commendable
   43  service to the citizens of Pinellas County and Florida.
   44         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   45  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the Juvenile
   46  Welfare Board of Pinellas County as a tangible token of the
   47  sentiments of the Florida Senate.