THE BILL ITSELF

SR 1804

Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County

VERSION S 1804 Filed · BACK TO THE SUMMARY · OFFICIAL RECORD

underlined language is being added; struck language is being deleted. Line numbers are the Legislature's own — the same ones amendments cite.

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.

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,

39 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

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.