A real TRIUMPH
The word resiliency gets tossed around a lot these days.
Economic resiliency, climate resiliency, Florida even has a Chief Resilience Officer. It’s used so much that the meaning has become obscured.
But there’s no better word to describe young adults who’ve aged out of the foster care system and are able to tackle the challenges they face head-on.
While those children are helped along by friends, teachers, organizations and their communities, they wouldn’t get far without a lot of determination, mettle and, yes, resiliency.
Fittingly, that’s the name of an annual awards program that recognizes youth who have persevered and overcome those challenges and aims to set them up with some of the tools necessary to succeed in postsecondary education.
On Wednesday, the Florida Guardian ad Litem announced the winners of the third annual TRIUMPH Awards, each represented by GAL in the state dependency courts.
This year’s winners were Angelina Ramirez of Lakeland, Jasmine Dixon of Tampa, Juana Gregorio of Deerfield Beach, Pearl Collins of Port Saint Lucie, Christopher Brice of Miami, Sara Friesel of Sarasota, Micaela Segobia of Key West and Ivery Swanson of Port Charlotte.
The eight recipients were honored Wednesday at a virtual ceremony with a statewide audience. All received scholarship money and an Apple MacBook furnished by Guardian Trust Foundation, the Florida Blue Foundation, and the Make It Happen Fund.
And nobody went home empty-handed — all youth who were nominated throughout the state received $100 gift cards.
“Witnessing the Incredible Resiliency that we see from our youth in care is what inspired us to create the TRIUMPH Award Scholarship,” GAL Foundation CEO Sonia Valladares said.
GAL Foundation President Lori Duarte-Roberts added, “We are honored to be able to present this opportunity for such deserving young adults.”
The Guardian ad Litem Program represents over 23,000 abused, abandoned, and neglected children in Florida’s dependency courts and advocates for their best interests, and the Florida GAL Foundation supports its mission.
The Guardian ad Litem program’s success is also dependent on volunteers. Attorneys, child welfare professionals and everyday people — everyone can help somehow, and volunteers are needed now more than ever.
Those interested in learning more about becoming a Guardian ad Litem volunteer can call 1-866-341-1425 or visit www.guardianadlitem.org. Those interested in learning more about the Guardian ad Litem Foundation can call 1-850-922-7213 or visit www.flgal.org.
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Coming up, the usual assortment of tidbits, leftovers and not-ready-for-prime-time moments by Peter Schorsch, Drew Wilson, Renzo Downey, Jason Delgado and the staff of Florida Politics.
Take 5
The “Takeaway 5” — the Top 5 stories from the week that was:
State counters Biden administration’s immigration policies — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody have taken action against a so-called immigration crisis manufactured by the Joe Biden administration. Moody’s office filed suit over immigration enforcement while DeSantis issued an executive order prohibiting state agencies from assisting in illegally resettling undocumented border crossers. In its case, the state demands the federal government cease and desist from the “catch and release” system of apprehending illegal border crossers, then giving them a court date and letting them go free. DeSantis also tapped Larry Keefe, the former U.S. Attorney for North Florida under President Donald Trump, as the state’s “Public Safety Czar.”
Ed board weighing legal options over masks — The Department of Education’s Board of Education is considering its legal options after the Biden administration stepped in to pay the salaries of Broward County School Board members violating DeSantis’ mask mandate ban. The board also scheduled a meeting for Thursday next week to consider sanctions against 11 other districts that followed Broward and Alachua’s lead on requiring masks. “The federal government will not be allowed to circumvent our laws and we will never cede the moral high ground for fighting for the rights of parents to make personal and private health care decisions for their families,” said DOE spokesperson Jared Ochs.
DeSantis demands probe into Facebook whitelist — DeSantis asked Florida’s top elections official, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, to investigate Facebook for election interference following a Wall Street Journal article showing the Silicon Valley giant gives preferential treatment to high-profile users when it comes to censorship. The list of users receiving extra protection for violating the platform’s content rules includes public officials and journalists. “It’s no secret that Big Tech censors have long enforced their own rules inconsistently,” DeSantis said in a statement. “If this new report is true, Facebook has violated Florida law to put its thumb on the scale of numerous state and local races. Floridians deserve to know how much this corporate titan has influenced our elections.”
DeSantis administration threatens Orange County over mandate — Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings expects the county will wind up in court with the state over its vaccine mandate for employees that kicked in this week. Last week, Demings said discipline for not being vaccinated under his mandate would be capped at a letter of reprimand that could disqualify them from promotion, according to the Orlando Sentinel. But a letter from the Department of Health said the county faces $5,000 fines for each person facing vaccine requirements, which the department says violates the vaccine passport ban. Meanwhile, Gainesville reversed its vaccine mandate for workers after the DeSantis administration backed a lawsuit filed by employees.
Adrian Lukis out as Chief of Staff — Adrian Lukis served his final day as DeSantis’ Chief of Staff after half a year in that role. DeSantis General Counsel James Uthmeier steps in as the new Chief of Staff. Lukis stepped up after his predecessor, Shane Strum, left the administration to serve as Broward Health’s CEO. Strum was DeSantis’ Chief of staff for two years. Lukis’ departure has been planned for a while. The short stint was so he could be at home with his young family. “We know great things are in store for him and his family, and look forward to watching his next steps as he continues his incredible career,” said DeSantis spokesperson Taryn Fenske when the plans became public in August.
Drug money
This week, Moody launched an online portal allowing local governments access to information regarding a historic opioid settlement agreement.
The Florida Opioid Settlement portal will allow city and county governments to participate in the $1.6 billion settlement.
“This new portal will help inform the public and local governments about these agreements and how monies will be utilized,” Moody said. “In order for a successful resolution and for Florida to maximize abatement dollars to help victims, we encourage local governments to participate.”
The portal comes after Florida and other states in August settled with several opioid distributors, including Johnson and Johnson.
The total settlement is nearly $2 billion. AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson, will collectively pay up to $21 billion over almost 28 years. Johnson & Johnson will pay up to $5 billion over nine years.
“I’m proud of the role Florida played negotiating these historic, multibillion-dollar agreements,” Moody said. “Funds from these agreements will be used to abate the deadly opioid crisis claiming 21 lives a day in our state.”
Eligible local governments have until Jan. 2, 2022, to join. To visit the Florida Opioid Settlement Portal website, click here.
Republished with permission [/vc_message]
