Kim Scott: social workers handled tens of thousands of student contacts last year as district tracks risk and referrals

Kim Scott, the district’s director of student services, told the Leon County School Board at its Jan. 26 agenda review workshop that social workers handled broad caseloads last year and are central to the district’s mental-health and safety response. “We served approximately 31,645 students last year,” Scott said.

Scott said the district’s population served included nearly 60% of students deemed economically disadvantaged, about 13% with disabilities and a homeless population near 2.4%. She told the board that, as of Jan. 15, the district had conducted 436 suicide risk assessments and reported 23 Baker Act incidents that occurred during school hours. “At that time, we had in the district conducted 436 suicide risk assessments. We had 23 Baker Acts during school hours,” Scott said.

Why this matters: the social-work team documents referrals, tracks follow-up and helps place students into community supports. Scott said the district completed 1,011 Florida harm-prevention instruments and has shifted some interventions from individual to group delivery — increasing group skills and case-management activity substantially year over year. She said DOE is moving to require 15- and 30-day follow-up on referrals, which will increase documentation and monitoring demands.

District staff and board members emphasized the workload and staffing implications. Scott said the district currently has 24 social workers, down from 27 the prior year, and that Title I elementary schools receive services two to three days per week while secondary schools have fuller coverage. “We are down to 24,” Scott said. She described sample monthly volumes for some campuses (dozens of risk assessments and hundreds of related supports) and said much of the work — interviews, parent contact, referrals and safety planning — is time-consuming and ongoing.

Board reaction and next steps: multiple board members urged prioritizing social-worker positions if budget or consolidation decisions are considered. One board member asked staff to identify paperwork or regulatory requirements that could be reduced and suggested presenting that list to state legislators; another said she would prefer consolidating one or two schools before cutting social workers. Kim Scott and other staff offered to share the raw data and documentation samples the board requested. The workshop did not include a formal vote on staffing or budget changes; board members asked staff to return with recommendations where appropriate.