Iroquois Family Support Center adds in-school counseling; partners, referral numbers grow

Julia, director of the Family Resource Center, told the Iroquois Central School District Board of Education that the Family Support Center has moved from planning into full operation and has started delivering in-school mental health services through partners.

“We have 1 clinician here 1 day a week. She’s here on Wednesdays from 07:30AM to 03:30PM, which currently has 22 students on her roster,” Julia said, describing the January 8 start date for Horizons Health Services. She said 11 students are actively engaging in counseling sessions, six are awaiting their first intake appointment and five referrals are still to be submitted.

The update matters because the program aims to reduce barriers families face in accessing behavioral health care. The district presented a map of partners that shows mental-health providers available to students and other community organizations supplying basic-needs supports such as food and transportation.

Board members and administrators emphasized access and continuity. Chris Hershey, director of student services, called the clinician’s presence a time-saving change for school counselors and social workers, noting it speeds placement of services for families and “there’s much more quality … than what we can really substantiate with numbers.”

Julia outlined near-term capacity plans: the current clinician is scheduled to add a second day in July 2025, which the district projects would allow about 45–48 students to receive in-school counseling when the clinician is on site two days per week. The district is also continuing partnerships with private practices; Julia said a private practice (identified in materials as Violante Counseling) will provide primary-level in-school counseling starting in February on one half-day per week and could expand hours in May when an existing contract ends.

Officials described additional program work: establishing a kinship support group for grandparents and great-grandparents raising children (a collaboration with Alden Central and Akron Central school districts and Family Help Center partners), planning family outreach and “family fun” events to raise awareness, and pursuing grant funding to underwrite counseling for uninsured families.

Board members asked about staffing and funding. Administrators said current district budget and carryover grant funds support Julia’s position for the coming year; the district is not proposing additional staff for the Family Support Center next year but hopes to grow services if grant funding allows. The board asked for continued updates as referrals and capacity change.

District leaders also noted qualitative impacts that aren’t fully captured by counts: staff described “critical need families” reached through the center and emphasized reduced lag time for students to get services compared with routing through the school counseling system.

Julia said additional administrative work this summer will include grant writing, developing screening tools, and forming a Family Support Center committee to help plan events and continued outreach. The district plans to evaluate needs again with a follow-up community needs assessment next school year.