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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...
Report Reveals a Record Number of Children Taken into Custody for Involuntary Psychiatric Examinations
Over 37,000 involuntary examinations, called a Baker Act, were initiated on children in Florida during 2018/2019. According to a report released this week by the Baker Act Reporting Center, there were over 210,000 involuntary psychiatric examinations initiated during...
Campaign Exposing Mental Health Human Rights Abuse Reaches Over 500,000
Watchdog organization is calling the abusive use of the Baker Act a serious threat to mental health human rights in Florida. The most recent report on involuntary psychiatric examinations in Florida disclosed that there were over 200,000 during 2017/2018. This same...
Baker Act Continuing Mental Health Education Course Helps Protect Human Rights
The virtual course identifies the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act, areas of abuse and the unintended consequences. The Florida mental health law, commonly called the Baker Act, has been a source of statewide abuse as reported repeatedly in the media....
Mental Health Watchdog to Host Legal Continuing Education Workshop on the Baker Act
During 2017/2018 there were over 200,000 involuntary psychiatric examinations, Baker Acts, and more than 36,000 of these were initiated on children. The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is hosting a virtual continuing legal education...
40 Years of Research Suggests Assessments may Increase Risk of Suicide
As International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day approaches, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is questioning the reliance on suicide risk assessments. Observed on November 21st this year, International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day...
CCHR Hosts Continuing Education Course on the Florida Mental Health Law
The virtual course for mental health professionals is designed to help them identify the basic human rights impacted by the law and its unintended consequences. The mental health law in Florida, known as the Baker Act, allows for individuals of all ages, including...
CCHR Calls Attention to Drugging of Millions of Children on the Heels of ADHD Awareness Month
There are over 6.7 million US children being prescribed psychiatric drugs with more than 3.3 million of these children prescribed drugs for ADHD. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog dedicated the protection of children,...
Mental Health Watchdog Offering Continuing Education Course on the Baker Act
The virtual course for mental health professionals will help them identify the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act and its unintended consequences. The mental health law in Florida, known as the Baker Act, allows for individuals of all ages, including...
Profiting from Misery: National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month
Mental health observances feed a $795 billion-dollar industry and are more about profit and less about helping those in need. Each year the month of October is touted as National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month with the stated purposed to “bring awareness...
Tens of Thousands of Children Sent for Involuntary Psychiatric Examination in Florida
Each year on October 10th World Mental Health Day is observed for the stated purpose of raising awareness on mental health issues. This year the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a watchdog organization, hosted a seminar on mental...
Reliance on Risk Assessments Questioned as Suicide Awareness Month Ends
September is nationally recognized as Suicide Awareness Month and the stated intention of this campaign is to “inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide prevention and warning signs of suicide”. [1] Each year one solution offered up...
Watchdog CCHR to Host a Baker Act Rights Seminar for World Mental Health Day
During a meeting of the Children’s Baker Act Task Force, it was revealed that a significant number of children sent for an involuntary psychiatric examination did not meet the criteria to be taken into custody. Unfortunately, this is not new information. The mental...
Almost 410,000 Reached in a Campaign to Protect Children and Parental Rights
Viewed as a statewide problem, the number of children sent for involuntary psychiatric examinations, called a Baker Act, has been steadily climbing for almost two decades and with many parents only finding out their child has been taken into custody after the fact, it...
Mental Health Watchdog Applauds Call for Independent Enquiry into Electroconvulsive Therapy
According to a post published in Psychology Today by John Read, Ph.D., a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London, “forty experts (including researchers, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals” have written the Minister for Health...
Evidence Points to Misuse of the Baker Act with Devastating Results for Children
As reported in multiple news stories, a recently released 85-page study found that “the Baker Act is increasingly being used on school children who make jokes, act out, exhibit normal manifestations of a known disability, or express ordinary sadness.” This same study...
Watchdog Calls into Question Reliance on Risk Assessments During Suicide Awareness Month
Each year September is recognized as Suicide Awareness Month with September 6th through the 12th observed as National Suicide Prevention Week. The stated intention of these campaigns is to “inform and engage health professionals and the general public about suicide...
Watchdog Campaign to Restore Parental Rights Reaches Over 370,000
Recognized across the state for helping parents whose children have been taken to a psychiatric facility for involuntary examination under Florida’s mental health law, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) launched a public information campaign earlier this...
Florida Psychiatrist Convicted of Disability Fraud and Tax Evasion
Evaded Paying Taxes on Over $1.6 Million in Income Earned While Claiming to be Disabled Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs - Tuesday, April 30, 2019 "A South Florida doctor residing in Hobe Sound, Florida, was sentenced to 51 months in prison yesterday...
Florida Getting $3.7 Million Following a Multistate Health Care Investigation
By FLORIDA DAILY - 07.24.20 "On Thursday, state Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that Florida will receive millions of dollars following a massive multi-state health care fraud investigation. Florida, along with 49 states, territories and the federal...
Staffer sexually abused 19-year-old at Tampa Community Hospital, lawsuit says
The woman, who was not named in the lawsuit, was admitted on June 3, 2018 to undergo a mental health evaluation. She was then sexually groomed and abused by employee Frank Lasso during her five-day stay, according to the lawsuit. It was filed in Hillsborough Circuit...
Mental Health Fraud Exacts High Human and Financial Costs
Mental Health Fraud Exacts High Human and Financial Costs March 11, 2016 Andria Jacobs, RN, MS, CEN, CPHQ "The United States loses approximately $100 billion to healthcare fraud annually. Up to $20 billion dollars are due to fraudulent practices in the mental health...
Study Reveals that Anxiety, Depression and PTSD may be Adaptive Responses to Adversity Not Mental Disorders
As reported in an article in Forbes titled, Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All, a recent study questioned the validity of labeling depression, anxiety and even ADHD as mental disorders. [1] The researchers in the study based their...
Recent Study Calls Psychological Assessments “Junk Science”
In a campaign to remove the stigma attached to mental illness, advocates have created numerous observance days, weeks and months which is why August is known as “National Health Center Week”. This observance week focuses on treatment and education with the underlying...
Mental Health Watchdog Reaches Over 330,000 in Campaign to Protect Parental Rights
Recognized across the state for their work in helping parents whose children have been taken to a psychiatric facility for involuntary examination under Florida’s mental health law, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has launched a social media campaign...
Tens of Thousands of Children Detained for Involuntary Psychiatric Examination Annually
The number of children taken into custody for an involuntary psychiatric examination has been steadily increasing in Florida for almost two decades and according to the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), this steady increase is...
Mental Health Watchdog Warns Against Psychotropic Drug Self-Care During Pandemic
Based on documented studies, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a watchdog organization that investigates and exposes abuse within the mental health industry, is warning the public about the dangers of psychotropic drug...
Mental Health Watchdog Renews Call for a Ban on Electroshock Device
In the wake of a recent study published in the journal Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry calling for the use of electroshock treatment (ECT) to be suspended immediately due to the risk of side effects such as brain damage, the Florida chapter of the mental...
Over 260,000 Reached in Campaign to Educate Parents on Their Rights
Earlier this year the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) launched a social media campaign designed to provide summaries of some of the legal concepts, rights, and facts relating to certain important student and parental rights. “We began...
Watchdog Calling for Reform During National Minority Mental Health Month
Observed during July every year, National Minority Mental Health Month is supposed to raise awareness on mental health issues and research into the topic reveals numerous articles on how minorities are “underserved”. However, information published by the Citizens...
Florida’s Emergency Psychiatric Hold is a Human Rights Violation
Once again Florida made headlines when Reason, the nation's leading libertarian magazine, published an investigative report on police in schools. While the story was mostly focused on School Resource Officers it also covered the abusive use of Florida’s short-term...
Mental Health Watchdog Calls for Ban on Electroshock Device in Florida
In light of the fact that the FDA admits electroshock (ECT) can cause brain damage and death the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is calling for a ban on the device being used in Florida. [1] According to federal records, over 20,000 Americans received...
Mental Health Watchdog Reaches More Than 180,000 Through Parental Rights Campaign
As part of a campaign to educate parents on their rights, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a watchdog organization that exposes abuse in the mental health industry, launched a newly revised website earlier this year as part of a...
Baker Act Reform is Needed in Order to Protect Parental Rights
The number of children being taken into custody for an involuntary psychiatric examination, called a Baker Act, has been steadily climbing across Florida for the past 17 years. And in February of this year, the trauma suffered during a Baker Act and the resultant harm...
Mental Health Month: A Marketing Campaign to Fuel the Psychiatric Industry
Since 1949 the month of May has been touted as Mental Health Month for the stated purpose of educating people on mental health issues. However, the real motive behind this marketing comes into question when messages such as “the 7 biggest parenting mistakes that...
Reliance on Suicide Risk Assessments May Increase Suicide Deaths
Due to COVID-19, mental health advocates are predicting that “suicide is likely to become a more pressing concern as the pandemic spreads and has longer-term effects on the general population, the economy, and vulnerable groups”. One solution being offered up is...
What are the rules for the Baker Act in Florida?
For a person to be taken into custody under a Baker Act three criteria (rules) must be met: There is reason to believe that the person is mentally ill. Because of his or her mental illness the person has refused voluntary examination or is unable to determine whether...
What are Parental Rights in Florida?
The interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is recognized as a fundamental liberty. A list of “Parental Rights” has been compiled using existing rights understood to be guaranteed to a parent so that all parents can easily know and...
Mental Health Watchdog Reaches Over 100,000 in Campaign to Protect Parental Rights
Last month the Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida (CCHR), launched a revised website and a campaign designed to help parents understand some of their rights. While parental rights have historically been viewed as fundamental, an erosion of these rights has...
Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week Sheds Light on Dangerous Psychiatric Drug Side Effects
In 2019 the Florida legislature adopted a resolution recognizing the first week in May every year as “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week”. Tardive dyskinesia is marked by involuntary movement of the lips, tongue, jaw, fingers, toes and other body parts. Tardive...
Mental Health Month Marketing Feeds Lucrative Psychiatric Industry
With global sales reaching $76 billion a year, psychiatric treatment is one of the most lucrative businesses in the world and according to IMS Health, a company that provides information, services and technology for the healthcare industry, there are over 78 million...
Mental Health Watchdog Launches Website to Educate Parents on Their Rights
Earlier this month the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an international mental health watchdog organization, launched a newly revised website designed to help parents understand some of the rights accorded to them under the law....
What do they do when they Baker Act you?
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. For more information on the Baker Act click...
What happens after 72 hours of Baker Act?
A person may not be held for longer than 72 hours and when the 72 hours is up the person must be released unless charged with a crime, or the person must decide to stay on a voluntary basis or the facility must file a petition for involuntary commitment. For more...
Is Baker Act only in Florida?
Baker Act is the common term for involuntary psychiatric examination also known as short term emergency commitment. Every state in the country has their own version of the Baker Act and each law is unique to that state. For more information on the Baker Act click...
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...
Contact CCHR Florida
109 N. Fort Harrison Ave.
Clearwater, Florida 33755
Tel: 1-800-782-2878
