In less than six weeks James E. Michalik, a children's advocate and former judge from New Hampshire, will arrive in Tallahassee to steer the 32-member Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions (FAHSC).
The job is all-new -- first time the statewide nonprofit has had an executive director. Michalik will lead the independent organizations, helping them advocate for public policy initiatives that promote quality health care for mothers, infants and children.
“It's perfect timing," said Manuel E. Fermin, CEO of the Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade and the president of FAHSC. "Jim Michalik's selection coincides with the coming 25th anniversary of Healthy Start. "He's going to be a big help in making life better for all of Florida's children and families."
The state’s 32 coalitions are partnerships made up of local public and private medical professionals, hospitals, schools, charities, social services agencies and individuals. Coalition members work together to identify and resolve local health problems that affect pregnant women and their families. The late Gov. Lawton Chiles and his wife, Rhea, founded the organization.
Michalik (pronounced ma-HA-lik) told Sunshine State News in a telephone interview, "This is an exciting time for me. I'll be able to do on a larger scale what I'm already doing in the north country of New Hampshire."
Fermin agrees and said that's why Michalik was chosen from among 70 applicants for a job advertised chiefly on the Internet and in The Tallahassee Democrat. "Between our state and national partners, the word just got out about the job and response was overwhelming. Judge Michalik is uniquely qualified," Fermin says. He served as a family court judge and as executive director of the Family Resource Center in Gorham, Colebrook, Littleton and Lancaster, N.H. -- rural areas with a high rate of young adults struggling with parenting issues.
Until now, individual members have stepped forward in some capacity or another to serve the larger organization in a leadership role. The coalition came to the conclusion in the last year or so that the job was too burdensome, too large to do locally and handle state issues as well. "We've been lucky," Fermin said. "We went from a budget of $300,000 to $10 million in a very short time, and now Florida has received another $14.7 million.
In February, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced $386 million in grant awards, including $14.7 million to the Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions Inc. The money will allow the coalitions to continue to expand voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to women during pregnancy and to parents with young children.
Michalik said as a judge he saw how neglect and abuse early in a child’s life could lead to criminal behavior later on. “Children need to have a safe infancy, be school-ready as they grow and to mature into capable and contributing teenagers and adults. It all starts at the beginning, with a healthy start,” he said.
Michalik has been a practicing attorney in New Hampshire since 1988. In 1999, then-New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen appointed him to the district court bench, and in 2006 he was elevated to the position of presiding judge of the Coos County Family Division.
In 2010, Michalik became the executive director of the Family Resource Center (FRC). According to records at the New Hampshire agency, he doubled the size of FRC’s afterschool programs and strengthened and grew its family-support programs. During Michalik's five-year tenure, the FRC received various awards, including being named the 2011 Nonprofit Business of the Year by BusinessNH Magazine.
"I leave (FRC) in a strong position, I think," Michalik said. "We've increased our funding sources, our revenue, our staff and the programming has been enlarged in scope."
He said if there were ever a need for him to enter a Florida courtroom as a lawyer, he would have to take the Florida Bar exam. He's not a member and there is no reciprocal agreement between Florida and New Hampshire.
Asked how his current job positions him for the more complex top job at FAHSC, Michalik said, "We have some of the same grants in New Hampshire as Healthy Start -- the early childhood and home visiting federal grants, for instance. We have those and others that are similar, grants that come from probably a dozen sources, representing federal, state and private money to perform home visiting services for expectant families and families struggling with parenting issues.
"With this money we perform services for families referred to us to give young parents and infants a healthy start and to provide services and help them be good parents and aid in child development. Referrals come from the Division of Youth and Families, law enforcement, the prison system, education system, friends and neighbors. We deal with substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty, undiagnosed mental illness issues -- the same risks and social ills that plague Florida."
Michalik admits he's unfamiliar with the Miami Herald series on abused and murdered children in South Florida. "I haven't read the series, but I know Florida has struggled with those issues," he said.
"What I hope to do is bring my experience as a family court judge to the job and work," he explained. "I want to work with legislators and policymakers and community partners and work with stakeholders around the state. I have a unique point of view, having served for 11 years in the district court system in New Hampshire. I have hundreds of thousands of anecdotal events of children who were in abusive relationships at home and grew into adolescence and had problems in schools. They grew from that into doing more serious crimes and jail time. I really understand the importance of a healthy start to break the cycle, and am more than aware of the very negative social outcomes of neglecting these problems."
"I'm really looking forward to getting started," Michalik said. "This is a completely new job, a position no one ever held before, so the challenge is amazing. I'm hoping to become familiar with all 32 organizations through strategic planning and finding out their current goals and how I can assist them in getting where they want to be. Hopefully, I can work with legislators, educating them, bringing real value to our programs."
Michalik said he will arrive in Florida the week of July 20, but begin work officially July 27.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
