Baker Act

The Southern Poverty Law Center is the latest organization to call out the Baker Act’s use on children. The organization's Bacardi Jackson discusses the findings.

If passed, the bill would require the parents or legal guardians of students institutionalized under the Baker Act to be notified prior to the student’s transportation to a receiving facility.

On "Florida Matters," host Bradley George talks with Lynn Hatter, the Health News Florida reporter who did our recent five-part series on children and the Baker Act.

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.

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.

In Florida, approximately 36,000 kids are Baker Acted per year.

The arrest of a six-year-old girl with special needs in Jacksonville earlier this month is renewing calls to change Florida's Baker Act.