TCOLE committee to send mental‑wellness recommendations, urges earlier training and statewide resource hub

At a subcommittee meeting of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, members voted to finalize and submit a recommendations document to the commission for its June 12 meeting in Austin that urges earlier mandatory wellness training for licensees, a statewide resource hub and a “checkpoint” peer‑support strategy for small agencies.

The committee said the proposals aim to close gaps in officer mental‑health supports that occur when agencies only deploy resources after high‑profile "critical incidents" and to make help available earlier in officers’ careers. Theresa Jamerson, medical director, recommended moving mental‑wellness training up so officers receive it before they reach the basic certificate stage. "This should be the third requirement," Jamerson said, arguing officers benefit if the training is provided during orientation or the field‑training period.

Committee members said smaller agencies often lack peer‑support teams and that TCOLE is well positioned to act as a clearinghouse. The draft recommendations ask TCOLE to maintain a resource guide on its website, to promote peer‑support programs at statewide conferences and to help ensure outside trainings are accepted for credit. One committee member cited a governor’s office grant program that the group said contains about $6,000,000 over the biennium for mental‑health efforts, and suggested the funds could support checkpoint or peer‑support work across regions.

The committee discussed a four‑hour ‘‘checkpoint strategy’’ training block aimed at agency leaders and recommended that training be offered both in a general session (to reach a broad audience) and in deeper breakout sessions for administrators. Several members said gaining buy‑in from chiefs, sheriffs and constables is essential and suggested initially offering the class widely rather than immediately mandating it for line officers. "If we train all the line now and we don't have the chiefs and the sheriffs buying in, it's not," one member said when arguing leadership participation is required to sustain programs.

Members also discussed the logistics of delivery, noting partners such as the Lehman Group, peer‑support networks, DPS troopers and professional associations (TMPA, DPSOA) could help deliver training and regional coordination. The committee proposed that TCOLE advertise resources and periodic reminders (for example, targeted email or social posts) and to host or link to an externally maintained directory (the committee discussed the "Blue Chip" program and other existing provider directories) so smaller agencies can find vetted, confidential assistance.

On actions, the committee approved the minutes from the prior meeting and later voted to approve submitting the final recommendations with the changes discussed to be included in the commissioners’ packet by the stated deadline. The group agreed to meet or review final changes on the day before the commission meeting (June 11) if necessary; the committee chair said he would distribute the updated document to members and submit it for inclusion in the packet.

The committee did not set a mandate across all licensees during this meeting; members favored a staged approach that prioritizes leader buy‑in and broader exposure through conferences and online modules before considering a formal training requirement. The document under revision will explicitly define what triggers resource deployment (a clarified definition of "critical incident"), outline a recommended checkpoint/peer‑support model, and identify specific, itemized roles for TCOLE (clearinghouse, advocacy to conferences, facilitation of accepted training).

Next steps: the subcommittee chair will finalize the draft, circulate it to the committee, and submit the document for the commissioners’ packet ahead of the commission’s June 12 meeting in Austin. The committee discussed follow‑up items including firming up grant‑funding uses, specifying how TCOLE will accept and credit trainings, and coordinating regional delivery with partner organizations.