Council approves $5,000 for back-to-school hygiene kits; city to require legal agreements before volunteer physicals

The Miami Gardens City Council voted 6-1 to allocate up to $5,000 from a councilmember public-affairs account to buy hygiene and school-supply packets tied to a back-to-school event scheduled for Aug. 9, 2025. Councilwoman Michelle C. Powell sponsored the item and said volunteer medical providers from the community will staff the screening station.

Powell said the money will pay for hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, band-aids and hand sanitizer and not for clinician compensation. "Let me be clear. This money does not go to any of the providers," Powell said during the discussion.

The council's debate focused on liability and operational details. Councilwoman Julian said she was not comfortable voting without seeing agreements and insurance documentation. "I cannot support it" she told colleagues, citing unresolved legal and intake-process questions.

City Attorney (on the record) told the council that signed agreements and liability waivers are not required before the vote but must be in place before any services are provided: "Not before you vote on it, but we're gonna have to have it before any services are provided." Powell and the attorney said providers will submit licensure and liability paperwork to the city and that the city attorney will review the documents; the council was told that paperwork would be completed before the event and that no clinician would examine a child without the child's parent or guardian present.

Powell also outlined the clinical scope planned for the event: volunteer clinicians will perform screening, fully clothed examinations in private rooms with a parent present — ‘‘they look at ears, listen to heart and lungs, check eyes by light,’’ she said — and will not draw blood, administer vaccinations, or provide comprehensive audiology or optometry at the site. Students needing follow-up will be referred to primary-care providers or public health facilities. Powell named five volunteer providers who had offered to participate and to submit documents for review: Dr. Melissa Chamberlain, Dr. Yolaine Chamberlain, Physician Assistant Michelle McKenzie, Physician Assistant Shelly Machado and Dr. Jalebsie Johnson.

Council members asked for additional safeguards: that parental consent forms, proof of professional licensure and indemnification clauses be submitted and reviewed in advance. The council approved the $5,000 allocation by a 6-1 roll call vote; Councilwoman Julian voted no. The record shows the funds are for supplies and event support, not clinician fees, and that no medical services will occur on city property until the city has the required agreements and waivers on file.

Nut graf: The vote clears money to buy hygiene and school-supply packets for a city-sponsored back-to-school event while leaving in place legal and administrative checkpoints the council said are needed before licensed volunteers may perform screening physicals.

Ending: Council staff and the city attorney will prepare and collect agreements and liability documents from volunteer providers before Aug. 9; the council did not set a separate enforcement deadline beyond the attorney’s assurance that paperwork must be in place before any clinical services are provided.