How would you evaluate the political landscape in Florida regarding at-risk youth?
In the two big areas we focus on in Florida – foster care and juvenile justice – the landscape is excellent. We had some legislation pass recently that will help young people aging out of the child welfare system. We have a state legislature now that is willing to listen, even though the budget is tight. They realize you can’t just let these kids from foster care leave the system at age 18 with no safety net.

In the juvenile justice system, we have a new secretary who shares our philosophy about therapy and treatment versus the warehousing of adjudicated youth. Secretary McNeil led the charge to change the Department of Juvenile Justice mission statement to one that calls for the protection of Florida’s citizens by helping young people succeed.

What do you think needs to happen at the state level regarding the juvenile justice system?
The secretary is choosing a blue-ribbon commission that will travel the state, seeking input from stakeholders before setting priorities for the department. I see us helping facilitate that and helping to draw other foundations from outside of Florida who are interested in juvenile justice but who have found Florida to be unfriendly in the past. I see major changes in the way we spend state dollars with a new focus on treatment and less focus on warehousing.

What needs to happen regarding youth in foster care?
On a county-by-county level, we are starting to partner with county governments and others to set up avenues of opportunities for youth from foster care. We are creating partnerships with potential employers, such as hospitals, that are excited to help these kids build careers. Our focus as a foundation is facilitating all the resources necessary to make this happen. Our foundation is working in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Brevard counties, and we have been approached by other counties in Florida, hoping to start programs for youth “aging out” of the foster care system. It’s not only the right thing to do; it will actually save the state money in the long run. We need to be proactive.

Do you have a chance to meet with or hear from some of the young people touched by the foundation’s work?
Constantly! Luckily through my work at Eckerd Family Foundation, I’ve been able to watch kids graduate from one of our computer centers. It’s not only great to see those kids, but also to see what it does for entire families. When you see how proud the families are, it makes it all worthwhile.

Any new directions you would like to see the foundation take?
We have given a lot of help with scholarship funds for college. Now I’d like to help focus on the kids who want to get vocational training. Not everyone wants to go to a four-year college. We could help a lot of our young people get vocational training and walk into adulthood with a good paycheck. I’d like to do some major grant work in this area.

The foundation is heading into its final years of existence. Leveraging the foundation’s investments and helping grantees find additional funding are important priorities. What is the foundation planning in that regard?
I have suggested the possibility of taking some of most positive grantees and possibly doing some endowment funding for them so that we can ensure their existence long after we are gone. Each of our seven board members has special areas of interest. I’d like to see each of us come up with one or two organizations where we might be able to do some endowment work.

What do you think your dad would say about the work of the Eckerd Family Foundation?
I’m sure he’s getting a lot of enjoyment, watching us ache over proposals and funding priorities. We do spend a lot of time at our meetings saying, “What would Mom and Dad do?” We are now including our children in decisions regarding our scholarship program. I know he would be happy that we are spending our family time talking about positive change in the lives of young people and their families.

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