A series of child welfare and family‑service organizations sought delegation support for operations, staffing, and program funding to serve abused, neglected and at‑risk children across Seminole County.

Candace Braskem, managing attorney for the statewide Guardian ad Litem office in the 18th Circuit, said 2024 was the first year the office had sufficient resources to ensure every child in Florida’s dependency system had a guardian ad litem and requested continued support for staff salaries and increased budget authority to draw down federal Title IV‑E funds. Braskem said staff salaries lag comparable state agencies and recruitment and retention pressures threaten service quality.

Phil Scarpelli of Family Partnership of Central Florida described progress following transition funding and said the agency has stabilized its workforce, improved permanency outcomes, and seeks continued funding for prevention and diversion programs.

Melissa Winstead, development director at Kids House of Seminole, described Kids House as the county’s sole child advocacy center that coordinates child abuse investigations and asked for sustained state support for Florida Network of Children's Advocacy Centers to address high staff turnover and operational needs. Marie Martinez (Howard Phillips Center) and others urged support for Early Steps and evidence‑based home visiting and early‑intervention programs that serve infants and toddlers with developmental delays.

Why it matters: Advocates described an ongoing need to fund staff, decrease turnover, and expand prevention and early‑intervention services that they said speed permanency for children and reduce long‑term costs to the system. Several speakers requested specific appropriations and increased authority to access federal funding.

No formal votes were taken at the delegation meeting; organizations asked delegates to carry or sponsor appropriations in the 2026 session.