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Abstinence Only Education Program of Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. Abstinence Only Education Program of Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. Administered By: (CONA) “Children Of Norwood Avenue” An AMA Ministry Formatted To: Educate Our Children.
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Abstinence Only Education Program of Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. Administered By: (CONA) “Children Of Norwood Avenue” An AMA Ministry Formatted To: Educate Our Children Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue A Presentation Of CONA’s Abstinence Only Education Program For NPO Presidents, Directors, Program Managers, School Principals and Parents Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Moderator and Presenter No. 1 • Elder Charles Ford Walker • Exec. Dir. Of AMA/CONA Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Just What or Who, Is: AMA, Inc. • Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. is an International (Not For Profit) Organization; Chartered to provide Business Administration and Financial Support for the Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith; Including the establishing of Programs with capacity to mitigate suffering of Seniors and Children in the communities of the world. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • What Business? • General Administration/Finance • Integrated Logistics • Property Management & acquisition • Contracts (Private Federal, State & Local Govt’s) • Program Development • Employment Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • What About ‘CONA’? • Information on CONA is in your handout, however, CONA is an AMA Ministry which operates as any ordinary successful NPO for the sole purpose of Educating our Children and providing information which enables them to choose better choices. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue. • What About ‘CONA’? • CONA Does Not Accept Program Failure. • CONA’s Employees Are Paid Professionals and Then Volunteers. • CONA Does Not Implement Programs Where They Are Not Invited. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • What About ‘CONA’? • For Youth Development and Confidence Elevation CONA , As Its Foundation, Utilizes Ten Principles; Known As The Ten Foot Prints To Success. • CONA, With Its Ten Foot Prints As The Master Plan; Developed Its Abstinence Only Education Plan, Per Guidelines Established By The US Govt. and The State Of Florida and Other States. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Why Abstinence Only Education? • It’s The Only Sure Way To Avoid Unwanted Pregnancies and STD’s • It’s A Part of The Law of The Nation and State • It Will Return The Nation To Productivity • It Can Pave The Way For A redistribution of Resources. • It’s A Choice That Our Teens Should Be Informed Of. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • The Law • Florida Sexuality Education Law and Policy • Florida law states that in order for high school students to graduate, they must receive one-half credit in “life management skills” in either ninth or tenth grade. The course must include instruction in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), family life, the benefits of sexual abstinence, and the consequences of teen pregnancy. It also states that these “descriptions for comprehensive health education shall not interfere with the local determination of appropriate curriculum which reflects local values and concerns.” Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • The Law: • Florida • School boards may decide to allow additional instruction regarding HIV/AIDS. Such instruction may include information about “means used to control the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.” All instruction and course material must: Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • The Law: • Florida: • Teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for all school-age students while teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage; • Emphasize that abstinence from sexual activity is a certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and other associated health problems; • Teach that each student has the power to control personal behavior and encourage students to base actions on reasoning, self-esteem, and respect for others; and • Provide instruction and material that is appropriate for the grade and age of the student. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • The Law • Florida • Florida standards, titled Sunshine State Standards for Health and Physical Fitness, do not mention instruction in HIV/AIDS, STDs, or sexuality education. • Parents or guardians may remove their children from any or all of sexuality education and/or STD/HIV education classes. This is referred to as an “opt-out” policy. • See Florida Statute, Title XLVIII, Chapter 1003, Section 42, 46. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Many Agencies and NPO’s Claim To Be Doing So Much To Service Our Youth With Sex Education; But In Reality Where Does FLORIDA Stand In Service To Our Youth? Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Florida ranked: • 31st in service availability; • 42nd in laws and policies; • 23rd in public funding; and • 39th overall. Guttmacher Institute Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • By The Admission of Our Proponents In Their Own Report It’s So! • The proportion of U.S. teens who had received any formal instruction about birth control methods declined sharply between 1995 and 2002, while the proportion who had received only information about abstinence more than doubled to more than one in five, according to “Changes in Formal Sex Education: 1995–2002,” by Laura Duberstein Lindberg et al., published in the December 2006 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Only 66% of males and 70% of females received formal instruction about birth control in 2002, compared with 81–87% in 1995. Black teens were even less likely than whites to have received any instruction about birth control methods Guttmacher Institute Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Their Own Reports Continue To Tell The Sad Story: • The United States has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancy in the industrialized world. Half of the six million pregnancies that occur among American women each year are unintended; of these, 1.3 million end in abortion. Guttmacher Institute Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • The United States Government Finally Had Enough • Recognizing the personal, social, economic and medical toll associated with unintended pregnancies, the federal government has established a national public health goal to reduce by 40% the proportion of pregnancies that are unintended by 2010. It also has identified family planning as the key to achieving this objective Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • What Do We; AMA/CONA Feel Are Our Responsibilities? • More so; because of who we are, than what we are; AMA/CONA are committed to the implementation of Faith Based Initiatives to bring a reduction in unintended pregnancies by the Children of Florida, the Nation and the World. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Program of Children of Norwood Avenue • Abstinence Only Education Option, Is The Main Driver Behind AMA/CONA’s Mitigation Initiatives Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue • “Choosing The Best” Is The Top Rated Curriculum AMA/CONA Selected To Assist In Unintended Pregnancy Reduction. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue Over 2,000,000 students nationwide have made Choosing the Best a phenomenal success. Their research-based, medical learning model motivates students through relationship education, refusal-skill coaching, character education, and parent-teen interviews. They have tailored five distinct programs for specific ages: Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue “I have reviewed Choosing The Best and believe it to be a well-prepared program that gives young people needed information and helps them build the skills they need for making healthful decisions” William Roper, M.D, Former Director Center For Disease Control Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue • Presenter No. 2 • Clare Spurgis • Assistant To The Exec. Director ‘Children of Norwood Avenue’ Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Children of Norwood Avenue Let’s Do The Three R’s Choosing The Best Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. Press Room Info. Handout No. 3 You may examine all the releases by going to the websites Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • The Major Press Rooms of America Are In Support of Abstinence Only Education • November 6, 2006 – Congressional Review Discredits Waxman Report • December 7, 2004 — Waxman Report Politically Motivated • Handout #4 Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. The Major Press Rooms of America Are In Support of Abstinence Only Education September 21, 2004 — The Heritage Foundation — Summary: Teens Who Make Virginity Pledges Have Substantially Improved Life Outcomes Handout #5 Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • The Major Press Rooms of America Are In Support of Abstinence Only Education • June 14, 2005 — The Heritage Foundation — Virginity Pledgers Have Lower STD Rates and Engage in Fewer Risky Sexual Behaviors Handout #6 Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • In Choosing A Curriculum AMA Looked For Total Medical Accuracy • Choosing the Best is committed to providing medically accurate information, based on research from sources such as peer-reviewed, published journals and government agency publications. Choosing the Best curricula have been reviewed and approved by a team of medical experts that comprise the Choosing the Best Medical Advisory Board: Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc The CTB Medical Advisory Board: Dr. Joshua R. Mann, M.D., M.P.H. is a board certified preventive medicine physician. Dr. Mann, currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Family and Preventive Medicine Division, joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 2002 and serves as the Medical Director of Employee/Student Health. Previously, he was the Director of Research at The Medical Institute for Sexual Health, Austin, Texas. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc The CTB Medical Advisory Board: Dr. James D. Mallory, Jr., M.D. received his AB degree in biology from Princeton University and his MD from Duke University, where he also completed his residency in Psychiatry. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He was assistant professor of psychiatry at Duke and in 1970 became the director of the Atlanta Counseling Center, where he continues to see patients. Dr. Mallory has authored numerous publications. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc The CTB Medical Advisory Board: • Dr. John T. Vessey, PhD., M.A. is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College. His expertise is in the areas of statistics, experimental design, psychometrics, and program evaluation. Prior to joining the Wheaton faculty in 2001, Dr. Vessey was an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health for three years, and an assistant professor at the Northwestern University Medical School for four years. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Research and Evaluation of CTB • Experts agree:Choosing the Best works — both immediately and with lasting results. Several short- and long-term studies, conducted by respected research institutions, provide statistical and attitudinal evidence of the effectiveness of Choosing the Best: Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Research and Evaluation of CTB • 2005 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Longitudinal/Behavior Outcome Study • An independent evaluation of Choosing the Best WAY, PATH, and LIFE was conducted by Dr. Stan Weed. The study, funded by a Federal SPRANS grant, began in 2002 and concluded in 2004. Using a quasi-experimental design, 7th, 8th and 9th grade students in a south metro Atlanta high school and its feeder middle school received either Choosing the Best (CTB) or the health textbook abstinence education curriculum that complies with state guidelines. The students were administered a 58-item survey prior to the study, immediately after receiving CTB or the health textbook material, and again twelve months later. Three hundred eighteen students were able to be tracked and matched at the pre-test and 12 month follow-up and had usable sexual activity status data. After one year, results among those students receiving CTB (treatment group) vs. those receiving the health textbook (comparison group) indicated a: • Statistically significant decrease in the initiation of teen sex of 47%;Statistically significant improvements in five of the six intervening attitudinal variables associated with delaying sexual intercourse. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best is medically accurate. • Choosing the Best is committed to being medically accurate and to providing the latest medical information. All medical information presented in Choosing the Best is obtained from current and highly respected sources such as research from peer-reviewed, published journals and government agency (e.g. CDC) publications which are clearly noted. Additionally, Choosing the Best utilizes a Medical Advisory Board, a team of medical experts, to review and approve all curricula. Finally, because medical information continually evolves, Choosing the Best regularly updates its materials to reflect the latest medical facts available. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best teaches students that abstinence is their BEST choice. • Choosing the Best strongly emphasizes that abstinence from sex until marriage is clearly students’ best choice for their health and futures. This is in stark contrast from “comprehensive” (i.e., contraceptive based) sex education programs, which teach teens that either being abstinent or having sex is equally acceptable, as long as contraception is used. • Comprehensive programs focus on teaching contraceptive use while downplaying the benefit of abstinence primarily because they believe: 1) teen sex is inevitable; 2) promoting abstinence is wrong because it teaches “values;” 3) teen sex, as long as contraception is used, is unproblematic. On the contrary, informed teens can and do choose not to have sex. The number of teens having sex has declined dramatically over the past decade and the majority of teens today—53 percent—have not had sex.1 Further, promoting abstinence is first and foremost a health, not a “values”, issue. The potential physical and emotional risks associated with teen sex are significant, regardless of whether or not contraception is used. Choosing the Best provides teens with the facts: At best, contraception can only reduce certain physical risks; the idea of “safe sex” is a myth; and abstinence is the only way to completely eliminate the physical and emotional risks associated with premarital sex. Only when armed with these facts can teens can make the best choice about their sexual behavior. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best does provide information about contraception. • Choosing the Best does educate about contraceptives; however, Choosing the Best does not advocate or demonstrate contraceptive use. Contraceptive methods are presented, including data about efficacy rates with respect to pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Choosing the Best shows, for example, that when used consistently and correctly, condoms are most effective at reducing the risk of HIV but are less effective in protecting against STDs such as chlamydia, herpes, and HPV, which can cause cervical cancer.2 The facts presented are supported by the CDC, illustrating the CDC’s conclusion that “condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD3” and teaching that only abstinence offers complete, 100% protection against both STDs and pregnancy. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best is medically based, not fear or shame based. • By presenting the medical facts about STDs and teen pregnancy, Choosing the Best helps teens understand the serious nature of these consequences, neither exaggerating nor downplaying these situations. All facts presented are sourced from research published in peer-reviewed journals and are confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Additionally, sources for all facts are clearly noted. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Along with educating about the risks of premarital sex, Choosing the Best promotes the rewards of abstaining and a positive message about sex in the context of marriage. • Choosing the Best teaches students that abstaining from sex as a teenager offers incredible freedom—freedom to pursue goals, dreams, and to enjoy being a teenager—and that sex is wonderful and appropriate in the context of marriage. Choosing the Best also addresses the needs of students who have already been sexually active by teaching that students can still choose—and benefit from—choosing abstinence from this day forward (i.e., “renewed virginity”). Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best does not discuss religion or religious values. • Choosing the Best empowers teens to make healthy choices to be free from the risks of STDs, unplanned pregnancy and negative emotional consequences and to be free to pursue dreams and goals, regardless of religious preference or conviction. Choosing the Best programs do not include any references to religion or religious values. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Choosing the Best covers nine critical learning areas in a scope and sequence program that spans the critical middle and high school years. • Choosing the Best offers five age appropriate programs for middle and high school students and provides sex and relationship education content in nine areas: Risks (emotional, STDs, teen pregnancy), Rewards (decision making, goal setting and achievement, marriage planning), Relationship Education (friendships, understanding guys and girls, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, preventing sexual abuse and date rape), Alcohol (dangers of mixing alcohol and sex), Refusal Skills (setting boundaries, developing verbal skills and assertiveness skills), Pledge (making a commitment to abstinence), Character Development (responsibility, self-respect, courage, perseverance, compassion, respect), Parent Involvement (parent training and homework interviews), and Building Self-esteem (identifying and appreciating unique qualities, interests or skills). Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • The response to Choosing the Best from parents, teachers, and students nationwide has been overwhelmingly positive. • Since 1994, over 1,500,000 students have completed Choosing the Best across 49 states. • Parents and teachers continually express how well students respond to Choosing the Best and students themselves communicate what a difference the program has made in their lives. Of over 40,000 students surveyed through post course evaluations, 72% indicate that “as of the present time, I choose to wait to have sex until I am married.” To learn more about the positive impact Choosing the Best has had on school districts and in communities around the country, Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • Abstinence Education Works! • Prior to 1994, comprehensive (contraceptive based) education was the norm in the state of Georgia for at least a decade. As a result, in the early 1990s, Georgia had one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. Since 1994, after the state adopted a policy mandating abstinence education in schools, the teen pregnancy rate in Georgia has declined dramatically. In fact, the sharpest declines have occurred since 1998, once abstinence programs were solidly in place throughout the state, with the teen pregnancy rate in Georgia declining at double the national average during the past four years. In a 2006 article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Dr. Stuart Brown, director of the Georgia Division of Public Health, credited abstinence education for this sharp decline in teen pregnancies and births.4 As the most widely used abstinence education program in Georgia, Choosing the Best, along with other programs, has undoubtedly played an important role in the state’s success Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc • Choosing The Best Advocacy: • 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2003. In: Surveillance Summaries, May 21, 2004. MMWR 2004; 53(No.SS-2) www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5302.pdf. • 2 National Institutes of Health, Workshop Summary: Scientific Evidence of Condom Effectiveness for STD prevention, 2001; Crosby, R.A. et al. Value of consistent condom use: a study of sexually transmitted disease prevention among African American adolescent females. American Journal of Public Health. June 2003, Vol 93, No. 6.; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. August 2004. Retrieved November 2005 at http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/latex.htm • 3 CDC, Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/condoms.pdf • 4 Atlanta Journal Constitution, “ Teen Pregnancies in Georgia Down Sharply Since ‘94”, May 2, 2006. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • Let’s Look At Brevard County, Florida See Handout ‘Beginning Life Healthy In Brevard County’ Handout # 2 Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796
Abstinence Only Education Programof Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc. • Conclusion: Abstinence Only Education Can Be Used To Control This Pandemic Because It’s: Proven as the only Birth Control method that’s 100% effective!! 100% effective for protection against STD’s Provides Children with accurate Sex and STD information based upon hard facts. Apostolic Ministries of America, Inc, 1422 Norwood Avenue, Titusville, FL 32796