Commissioners Budget $10M For El Paso Children’s Mental Health Facility

ELPASO, TX.- The quest to build a treatment center for children with mental health problems is almost complete.

Leaders of the Border Children’s Mental Health Collaborative tell ABC-7 Commissioner’s Court is planning to budget $10 million dollars to go toward building a treatment center in El Paso. Though commissioners don’t know exactly where the mental health facility would be yet, theysaid they are hoping to build it somewhere near Ascarate Park. They say they like the idea of having the treatment center near the park because kids could use the park’s facilities – like the lake, swimming pool, and playground. It’s not a done deal yet – but one commissioner says he doesn’t anticipate any hurdles in getting the money approved.

Treatment for children with mental health problems in El Paso is on the brink of major change. The city could become home to a specialized treatment facility very soon. Currently, many parents have to relinquish their rights so their children can get treatment for their mental health issues in places as far as San Antonio. But that may not be the case for much longer.

The border children’s head, Roger Martinez, says when the facility is complete, it would be like a mall. Families could go there and work with MHMR, Child Protective Services, Juvenile Probation, and others, “It’s no longer a territorial type of situation where they have to be abused or neglected and given over to the state, or they have to become delinquent children and be sent to detention, or they have to be having psychiatric breakdowns,” said Martinez, the Director of the Border Children’s Mental Health Collaborative.

Commissioner Dan Haggerty says the court should be addressing the issue Monday. If thecollaborative gets the $10 million dollars, the group would need to build the center in two years.