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Commission agrees to revise and route letter supporting $800,000 Children’s Network appropriation
Summary
Commissionors agreed to have county staff and legal review a draft letter of support for the Children’s Network’s $800,000 state appropriation request and to circulate the revised draft to commissioners before signature.
The Commission on Human Trafficking voted to authorize staff and county legal to review and revise a draft letter of support requested by the Children’s Network for an $800,000 state appropriation to fund the 'Chance' program.
A representative from the Children’s Network asked the commission to send letters endorsing a state appropriation request of $800,000 to expand trauma‑informed services. Members raised concerns about accuracy of statistics proposed for the letter and timing: one commissioner recommended including recent recovery totals ("the recent 122 children that were recovered, and 47 percent of those children are from Tampa"); a detective clarified the numbers described the broader Tampa Bay area (including Pinellas and Pasco), not just Hillsborough County.
Given the sensitivity and changing operational numbers from ongoing stings, Speaker 10 moved that county staff and county legal review and edit the draft, then return a final version for the chair’s signature; the motion passed by voice vote. Staff said recommendation letters can sometimes arrive after appropriation packets and that more letters can be added later.
Next steps: legal and staff will review the draft, incorporate any agreed language (including clarified statistics where appropriate), circulate the revised draft to the commission membership, and bring the final letter back to the chair for signature and transmittal to legislative offices named by the Children’s Network.
