baker act

Florida had 5,077 incidents of students being involuntarily committed under a mental-health law known as the Baker Act during the past school year.

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.

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

Data shows children who are committed under the Baker Act often are referred by school officials. School shootings and other incidents have placed more pressure on officials to intervene.

Each year, about 36,000 children in Florida are involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluations under the state's Baker Act and disabled kids are becoming increasingly ensnared.

The number of children who are taken for involuntary psychiatric evaluations in Florida increases every year. This is the first story in a five-part series about how the state's Baker Act affects children.

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