July 28, 2022
Corporal Jeffery Vadzemneiks serves as Humble ISD’s Mental Health Officer. In addition to Corporal Vadzemneiks, about 50 percent of Humble ISD officers are mental health certified and 50 percent are crisis intervention trained. The goal is for every officer to have training in mental health. All officers with this training will improve crisis response by assessing situations and navigating alternatives that provide effective mental health treatment.
The Mental Health Officer provides additional mental health support to the Wellness team as well as Humble ISD campuses. There are three primary functions Corporal Vadzemneiks provides at an incident: de-escalation, diversion and follow-up. Additional benefits of having a Mental Health Officer include:
- Partnership between Counseling and Behavioral Services and Humble ISD Police Department.
- Focus is on students who would normally be referred for an emergency mental health detention or supportive crisis intervention.
- Allows the student to get needed crisis support and intervention and reduces the number of campus staff needed to intervene.
- Allows the District to provide acute support to students in crisis.
- Increases the District’s ability to quickly evaluate and intervene with students with severe behavior challenges.
- Conducts behavioral threat assessments to ensure proper campus/student support is provided.
- Provides expertise, training and coaching to create long-term plans to support students in reintegration to campus.
- Connects parents with needed community resources to wrap services into the home setting.
Corporal Vadzemnieks completed extensive training in crisis intervention, community relations, ADA, mental health and de-escalation. He brings more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, including the Harris County Sherriff’s Office and the Humble ISD Police Department. Humble ISD added this position in 2021-2022 with federal funding.