Baker Act

An organization that advocates for those with disabilities claims the Department of Children and Families has not issued required reports about the use of the Baker Act.

The state’s process for involuntary psychiatric evaluations is getting a major overhaul under new legislation that’s cleared the legislature this year, with advocates saying its long overdue.

The Baker Act is a state law that allows courts, law enforcement officers, and certain medical workers to order people who could be a harm to themselves or others to be taken to facilities for up to 72 hours.

Florida needs pediatric psychiatrists. Some counties have no providers at all. Dr. Howard Pratt, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, worries about all the kids who aren't getting care.

For years, mental health advocates have been trying to get the state to re-examine its laws around involuntary psychiatric commitment—and while the legislature has, in the past—taken some incremental steps—this year marks the biggest change yet.

For years, some lawmakers have been pushing major rewrites of the Baker and Marchman Acts—two key pieces of law that enable people to be involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluation. The latest effort is again in trouble. While Republican Sen. Aaron Bean describes his proposal as more of a “tweak” to the system, some stakeholders suggest there’s a lot left undone.

Parents have long fretted about schools’ ability to circumvent them in critical health decisions regarding their children. Now, those loopholes are getting smaller after the legislature approved provisions requiring parents be notified before their child is sent for an involuntary psychiatric exam. It's part of a years-long effort by parents rights groups and mental health advocates to curb the use of the state's Baker Act on children.

More than 37,000 children were sent for involuntary psychiatric exams in the 2018-19 fiscal year. The number has grown every year for the past decade. Lawmakers are aware of it. So are advocates, law enforcement and state agencies. Legislative solutions remain elusive and proposals on the Baker Act this year appear to be going nowhere. The Southern Poverty Law Center is the latest organization to call out the Baker Act’s use on children. WFSU News Director Lynn Hatter recently spoke with the SPLC’s Bacardi Jackson about the organization’s findings.

When it comes to children, Florida's law regarding involuntary commitments for psychiatric treatment is applied inconsistently.

To keep children from being committed under the Baker Act, some schools are addressing early childhood trauma and changing their approach to student discipline.