News
Baker Acting of Children: Citing Abuse, Advocates Demanding Change to Law
Over 37,000 Baker Acts were initiated in Florida on children during 2018/2019 and advocates are demanding a change to the law to protect children from abuse. The Florida mental health law, commonly called the Baker Act, allows for individuals of all ages to be taken...
CCHR’s Baker Act Continuing Education Courses Help Protect Citizens from Abuse
The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) began hosting continuing education courses for attorneys in 2018 in response to the alarming number of people taken into custody each year under the Baker Act. Florida’s mental health law, known as...
The Abject Failure of the Mental Health Industry to Prevent Suicide Should be Investigated
Spending in the mental health market has increased by 52.1% since 2009 yet U.S. suicide rates hit a 50-year historical high. In 2018, there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts and more than 48,000 deaths by suicide, making it the tenth leading cause of...
Watchdog Group Demands Change to Laws Governing the Baker Acting of Children
The Baker Act has been a formidable survivor of reformation and according to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, changes to protect children are needed. Decades of abuse and loss of parental rights follow in the wake of the Baker Act. And despite demands for...
Predicting & Preventing Suicide
Predicting & Preventing Suicide In 2018, there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts and more than 48,000 deaths by suicide, making it the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.[i] Recent world events have placed a tremendous amount of...
Mental Health Watchdog Hosts Baker Act Continuing Education Course in Campaign to Protect Citizens from Abuse
The virtual course identifies the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act, areas of abuse and the unintended consequences. Almost 25 years ago the Florida Supreme Court issued an Executive Summary following a review of the use of the Baker Act. In this report,...
Tens of Thousands of Children Taken into Custody: The Baker Act Must Be Reformed
Baker Act abuse runs rampant and calls for reformation are resounding from press to parents. CCHR says it is time for change, one that is a long time coming. Fifty years of Baker Act abuse and maltreatment is more than enough for Florida citizens, practitioners, and...
Why Florida Needs to Revisit and Reform the Mental Health Law
There is the equivalent of one hundred Baker Acts initiated on children every day of the year. It is no wonder that parents are incensed. Where did it go wrong? Florida’s Mental Health Act of 1971 was designed and meant to protect an individual's rights and due...
Experts Warn – Psychiatric Drugs May Cause More Harm Than Help
Studies have suggested that psychiatric drugs may do more harm than good, especially in the long-term. Antipsychotics, also known as neuroleptics, are a class of medication primarily used to manage psychosis, principally in schizophrenia but also in a range of other...
Information Withheld Concerning Safety of Antidepressants
Reports show that vital information regarding the safety of antidepressants has been suppressed by pharmaceutical companies. The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), is concerned that vital information has been withheld from the medical...
The Horrors of Addiction – Craving Psychotropics
By far one of the most insidious addictions is one that is started with a doctor’s prescription pad -- for example opioids and psychotropics. The myriad of negative side-effects of psychotropic drugs has often been reported. There is one aspect that has not received...
Psychiatric Drugs and Side Effects – The Unseen Hand Behind Violence in America
Close to 17% of Americans are taking psychiatric drugs with side effects such as acting aggressively, being angry, or violent and acting on dangerous impulses. According to the United Health Foundation there were over 1.2 million acts of violent crime in 2018...
America’s Hidden Epidemic: Psychiatric Drugs, Addiction and Suicide
There is growing concern that psychiatric drugs, fueled by exorbitant mental health spending, are being over prescribed and are causing more harm than what is being publicized. [1] The pharmaceutical companies and the psychiatric community pocket some $62 billion on...
The Myth of Holiday Suicides: CDC Reports that the Suicide Rate is Lowest in December
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that the holiday suicide myth supports misinformation about suicide and might actually hinder prevention efforts. Suicide is a recognized problem in the United States and it does not seem to be improving despite the...
WUSF Series Investigates the Fastest Growing Group Under the Baker Act, Children
The series explores the how outraged parents and advocates are fighting to stop the abusive use of this law on children. WUSF recently completed a five-part series regarding Florida’s mental health law also known as the Baker Act. Although this law was not written for...
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Clearwater, Florida 33755
Tel: 1-800-782-2878
