Funeral service held for 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - A small Clearwater church was packed with people celebrating the life of Jordan Belliveau on Saturday.

He's the 2-year-old from Largo who police say was killed by his mother.

Jordan's bright eyes and toothy smile captured countless hearts in the last two weeks.
And on Saturday morning, the community laid little Jordan to rest at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church.

Cameras weren't allowed inside, but people could be seen carrying in dozens of balloons, and there was even a character appearance from Jordan's favorite TV show, "Paw Patrol." 

The funeral service drew friends and family, but also members of the community who followed Jordan's story from the beginning and say it resonated with them deeply.

Jordan was taken from his mother Charisse Stinson last year and lived with a foster family until his mother regained custody.  

Delores Atkinson is a former foster parent who felt moved to attend Jordan's funeral service.  She says the system needs to be changed.

"It's a touching situation that no one feels like we should have to endure, losing a child.. when will the system correct itself," she said.

State representative Chris Latvala also feels that Jordan's story highlights a serious break in the system, and believes "Jordan's Law" would help change that.

The law would create a 10 case maximum for caseworkers dealing with child welfare.
Case managers can often handle dozens of cases at a time. 

Caseworkers visited with Jordan's family 8 times before he was reunited with his mother in late May.  The final visit as the day before Stinson reported her son missing. 

Stinson is now facing first-degree murder and was recently denied bail.