{"id":92710,"date":"2025-12-22T18:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T18:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/92710\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T18:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T18:07:09","slug":"catalyze-2026-michael-mikurak-jwb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/92710\/","title":{"rendered":"Catalyze 2026: Michael Mikurak (JWB)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re asking thought leaders, business people and creatives to talk about the upcoming new year and give us catalyzing ideas for making St. Pete a better place to live. What should our city look like? What are their hopes, their plans, their problem-solving ideas? This is Catalyze 2026.<\/p>\n

Michael Mikurak believes that modern technology can have a profound influence on young people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since being named the interim CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County in June, he has prioritized strategies that can help local youth thrive and stay safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organization, which was established by a special act of the Florida legislature, creates and invests in initiatives that benefit Pinellas County children and adolescents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the major goals I\u2019m really hoping to achieve is to help parents, grandparents and caregivers get the experience and knowledge,\u201d Mikurak explained, \u201cto help save their children from online predators.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He provided some alarming statistics to show the impact of cybercrimes nationally and regionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently, over 500,000 predators are active online every day. Additionally, there are approximately 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. Nearly 2,000 of them are in Pinellas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most discouraging thing at this point is that the gap between what parents know about technology and how their children use it is growing and expanding,\u201d Mikurak said. \u201cSo, we really need to educate and engage parents and help them keep their kids safe online.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, he announced a partnership with the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> to help protect children from these types of crimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parents, guardians and concerned citizens are now able to get a free annual subscription to Parent ProTech, which provides tools to help adults and their children navigate technologies such as social media and artificial intelligence.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to take the cost issue out of this,\u201d Mikurak explained. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want parents to have to worry about how much it was going to cost or how to access it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The JWB team plans to actively keep track of progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re monitoring it every step of the way. So, we\u2019ll get reports from Parent ProTech on how many people are actually accessing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said that \u201cgetting the word out\u201d is key. JWB is working with partners and funded providers to reach as many caregivers as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

JWB offers programs and initiatives for people between the ages of 0 and 17. Mikurak explained that the organization has been focusing heavily on preventative programs for young children and infants in the past few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to refocus in a number of ways and that\u2019s what we are doing in our strategic sessions as we speak,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom 10 to 17, we need to ensure that we\u2019re continuing to provide programs and value for those children as well. That means we really need to think about what their future is going to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Safety is just one aspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The JWB team is actively working on how to help these adolescents thrive in trade careers. Specific industries like construction, carpentry and automobile services will not be eliminated even in an age of advanced technology, Mikurak added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s economic development. That\u2019s clearly a way of focusing on how we can grow our community and Pinellas County,\u201d he said. \u201cOur board is going to have to make those decisions on what strategic changes are made in any programs we have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mikurak explained that JWB is currently collaborating with a consulting group to assist with direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been focusing on what the future looks like and how we adapt that to today,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, clearly, what\u2019s most important is that we are planning on a two-year strategy. We\u2019re not thinking about five or 10 years from now, because technology and other things are changing so dramatically.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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