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Miami Lakes attorney offers guardianship workshops, pro bono support and legal outreach for families of children with disabilities
Summary
Stephanie Cruz, incoming president of the Miami Lakes Bar Association, offered to serve as a local liaison, run workshops on guardianship and special-needs planning, and explore pro bono or subsidized legal help for families; board members discussed potential sponsorship and scheduling.
Stephanie Cruz, who identified herself as an attorney in town and the incoming president of the Miami Lakes Bar Association, told the Special Needs Advisory Board she wants to increase the bar association's local engagement and provide legal outreach for families of children with disabilities.
Cruz said she has run guardianship and special-needs planning workshops in the community and offered to serve as a liaison to the board. "I want to be that connection," she said, adding she has experience raising funds and running community workshops and has donated to local causes in the past. Cruz described several past workshops attended by dozens of residents and offered options such as payment plans, limited pro bono slots, or low-fee arrangements to help families secure guardianship or special-needs trusts.
Board members discussed possible collaboration on education for parents, including evening workshops and resource referrals. Cruz suggested that education and clear information would reduce confusion among families about guardianship, special-needs trusts and benefit applications, and she said she had previously engaged with county transition teams and with an effort to meet the CEO of Parent 2 Parent for broader resources. Cruz offered to help organize future sessions and to provide her cell phone number for follow-up.
Cruz discussed practical options she has used in her practice, including flat fees and payment plans for guardianship filings and one-off pro bono cases. She described prior workshops with attendance ranging from about 30 to 55 people and said she is willing to both host and help the board design events tailored to local families.
No formal motion or funding allocation for workshops or legal services was recorded in the transcript; Cruz and board members agreed to follow up outside the meeting to plan workshops and potential sponsorship or co-sponsorship.
The transcript includes multiple statements about outreach, workshop logistics and potential donor/scholarship models; there was discussion of the need for a reliable local referral for benefits and special-needs resource navigation.
