The Florida Center provides mental health clinicians to the district’s elementary schools, while First Step works with students in middle and high school.
Florida Center Chief Operations Officer Kristie Skoglund said she hopes to double the number of mental health clinicians within the district’s elementary schools.
“It’s a really big job,” Skoglund said. “They work for us and are also in the schools, so they are often split between the duties for the organization and the duties for the school.”
Former Sarasota County Sheriff and First Step CEO Tom Knight is pushing for several new positions, including three program managers to oversee specific geographic areas within the county. The program officials are also asking for new mental health therapists in each middle school and high school.