Lee's Place funds five-year FSU school-based mental-health partnership and social-worker stipends

Lee's Place, a Tallahassee nonprofit that provided grief, loss and trauma counseling for 24 years, told the Leon County School Board on Oct. 14 that it will use its remaining assets to fund direct mental-health services for students in Leon County Schools.

At the meeting, Lee's Place representatives said they will support Florida State University's Scribe program by funding doctoral internships placed in county schools and by providing stipends to school social workers. The nonprofit and Flor ida State representatives described the Scribe placements as weekly, school-based counseling sessions intended to provide reliable, recurring mental-health supports for students who otherwise have difficulty getting consistent services during the school day.

The district, Lee's Place and FSU said the Scribe program has been operating in Leon County for three years and has served more than 130 students across multiple high schools and middle schools. FSU officials said the doctoral interns provide direct counseling services under faculty supervision and meet regularly with students who have been identified as needing ongoing mental-health support.

Lee's Place told the board it will fund the FSU internship program for five years and will also provide $500 stipends to approximately 40 school social workers for the current year. At the announcement, speakers used two different total figures for the contribution: they described funding of “$60,000 a year” for the internship cohort for five years and also cited an aggregate figure of approximately $306,500 over five years. District staff and donors clarified that the $60,000 figure refers to the annual cost the district had been covering for the internship cohort and that Lee's Place committed to underwrite that placement for the next five years; the $306,500 aggregate figure was presented by a district staff member as the amount to be distributed over five years. (The transcript records both figures; the article does not reconcile them beyond citing the speakers' statements.)

Lindsey Jenkins, a Florida State University professor who oversees the school psychology training program, told the board the Scribe program places doctoral students in specific Leon County schools (Godby, Chiles, Deerlake, Cobb, Rickards and Canopy Oaks were named) and that last school year the placements were nearly full. Jenkins said the program fills a gap when school counselors and social workers cannot reliably provide weekly counseling due to competing job demands.

Board members and district leaders thanked Lee's Place and the FSU team and characterized the contribution as direct service to students rather than administrative overhead. Superintendent Hanna and other board members said they welcomed the partnership and highlighted that donor funding directed to school-based counseling increases consistent access for students who need mental-health supports during the school day.

Clarifying details recorded at the board meeting indicate: Lee's Place intends to fund the Scribe internship program (described as costing about $60,000 per year) for five years; Lee's Place said it will provide $500 stipends to approximately 40 school social workers this year; a district staff member cited a total figure of $306,500 over five years during her remarks. The transcript does not provide an itemized budget that reconciles all cited amounts, so the article reports both figures as they were stated at the meeting.

Board members said the district will follow up with donors and FSU to finalize the implementation schedule and to confirm exact financial details. FSU and district representatives also said they would continue recruiting doctoral interns to fill placement spots and monitor caseloads to ensure weekly contact with students.

Speakers at the meeting emphasized the direct-service nature of the contribution and the value of university-district partnerships in expanding access to school-based counseling. The district said it will provide additional details to the board and the public as arrangements are finalized.

Ending: District officials said they will return to the board with implementation details and budgeting clarifications once paperwork is completed and the partnership schedule is finalized.