Column: MISD’s mental health action plan ‘is a long time coming’

Thank you, Midland ISD, for hiring a mental health coordinator.

The addition to the Midland ISD staff will help implement and develop a program as the district puts together a mental health action plan.

This newspaper has been consistent in its opinion that not enough resources are going toward mental health in the community, and that is especially true for younger Midlanders. The Midland Development Corp. and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center partnered to create a regional child and adolescent psychiatry care facility in Midland. It was, in my view, one of the best investments the MDC has made to date.

Midland ISD is partnering with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute for this behavior health coordinator who will get input from students, staff and parents on the needs inside the district. Nicole Ramon, director of Guidance and Counseling at Midland ISD, said the district can then start to target areas where the district is struggling.

“The goal is to develop a comprehensive strategy to fit what we need,” Ramon said. “This is a new direction for mental health and MISD.”

Read the full opinion from the Midland Reporter-Telegram.