News
What does it mean to be Baker Acted?
Being Baker Acted means that you have been taken into custody, usually by law enforcement, and transported to a psychiatric facility for examination. You can then be held for up to 72 hours at the psychiatric facility. For more information on the Baker Act click...
What does it take to Baker Act someone in Florida?
There are three criteria that must be met in order for a person to be taken into custody under a Baker Act. A Baker Act can be initiated by judges, law enforcement officials, doctors or mental health professionals. For more information on the Baker Act click here.
What is the difference between Baker Act and Marchman Act?
The Baker Act is used to involuntarily commit individuals who are considered to be a danger to self or others due to mental illness. The Marchman Act is used to force a person who has a drug or alcohol addiction into treatment. For more information on the Baker Act...
Does a Baker Act go on your record?
Yes. There will be a medical record, a police record if law enforcement was involved and if a petition is filed for involuntary placement then also a court record. There is no procedure in the law to remove or seal the records of a Baker Act. For more information on...
Can a Baker Act refuse treatment?
Yes, a person can refuse treatment if it was determined during the initial examination that the person is competent to consent. If the person was deemed incompetent then the facility must to have a guardian advocate appointed. For more information on the Baker Act...
What happens if you get Baker Acted?
Usually a person who is Baker Acted is transported to a psychiatric facility by law enforcement for an initial examination by a psychiatrist. Once at the facility the person can be held involuntarily for up to 72 hours. Click here for more information on the Baker...
What are Parental Rights?
Even before the current pandemic scare, Florida parents have worried about protecting their children, particularly at school. The fact that children were being regularly taken from school without prior parental notice or agreement for involuntary psychiatric...
Six-year-old Allegedly Forcibly Drugged in Psychiatric Facility: CCHR Demanding Answers
With all the media coverage and outrage over six-year-old Nadia Falk’s forced stay and alleged drugging in a Florida psychiatric facility this February, a deeper question is raised. What is the justification for the psychiatric drugging of children, and especially the...
Baker Act Reform Continues to Leave Parents Out of the Solution
The mental health law in Florida, commonly called the Baker Act, allows for anyone, no matter their age, to be taken into custody for an involuntary psychiatric examination. This includes children and during 2017-2018 there were a staggering 36,078 involuntary...
Electroshock: Therapy or Torture? Exhibit Held in Tallahassee Rotunda
The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a mental health watchdog that investigates and exposes abuses in the mental health industry, held a two-day exhibit on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock, in the Florida...
CCHR Encourages the Public to Report Psychiatric Abuse and Fraud
With the recent passage of the federal stimulus package, which allocated $425 million for mental health services and an additional $1.32 billion for community mental health centers, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International announced that they will be...
The Unworkability of Suicide Risk Assessments
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death in young people in the US today and suicide risk assessment is often touted as the answer but experts in the field have repeatedly concluded that there is not any one scale that can predict who will commit suicide to any...
Parental Rights
Introduction On July 1, 2021, Florida's Parents' Bill of Rights became law. As a parent, you need to know and understand these rights. CCHR has created a series of 15-30 second videos to help explain some of these rights as well as a simple booklet that can be...
Mental Health Watchdog Hosts Legal Symposium Highlighting Baker Act Abuse Prevention
The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) hosted its fifth conference on the Baker Act which has been notoriously featured in the headlines for the past few months due to very young children being taken into custody. The symposium, held at...
CCHR Calls Involuntary Psychiatric Examination of Children in Florida a Human Rights Abuse
Over the past two weeks there has been a viral reporting of the tragic involuntary psychiatric examination of a 6-year-old girl in Jacksonville, Florida. Called a Baker Act, involuntary psychiatric examination is part of the Florida mental health law and it applies to...
Contact CCHR Florida
109 N. Fort Harrison Ave.
Clearwater, Florida 33755
Tel: 1-800-782-2878
