The Florida Mental Health Act (The Baker Act) 2003 .docx

The Florida Mental Health Act
(The Baker Act)
2003 Annual Report
Prepared for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
By the
Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute
Department of Mental Health Law & Policy
Policy and Services Research Data Center
Annette Christy, Ph.D.
Paul G. Stiles, J.D., Ph.D.
March 2005
For Information Contact:

Dr. Annette Christy, Research Assistant Professor
Department of Mental Health Law & Policy
Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute
University of South Florida
13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MHC 2620
Tampa, Florida 33612-3807
(813) 974-7419
[email protected]
For additional copies, go to http://bakeract.fmhi.usf.edu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Report Highlights
...............................................................................................
.......................3
Introduction
...............................................................................................
................................4
Technical Notes About Data Analyses
..................................................................................5
State Level Analyses
...............................................................................................
...................7
County Level
Analyses.................................................................................

...........................10
Facility Level Analyses
...............................................................................................
.............13
Appendix: Department of Children and Family Services District
Map .........................17
The Florida Mental Health Act (Baker Act) 2003 Annual Report
2
Report Highlights
• The Baker Act Reporting Center at the Louis de la Parte
Florida Mental Health
Institute received and entered data from forms documenting
109,682 involuntary
examinations initiated in calendar year 2003. Data were
analyzed from 104,600 forms
for exams in 2003 after the removal of duplicate forms from the
analysis.
• The number of initiations has increased each year, from
69,235 in 1997 to 109,682 in
2003. This is an increase of 58% over this period. During this

same time period,
estimates based on U.S. Census data indicate that the Florida
population has
increased 17%.
• There were at least 75,521 people with Baker Act exams
initiated in 2003.
• Eighteen percent of these people had more than one Baker Act
initiation in 2003
(range 2 to 50 exams).
• The majority of Baker Act initiations were completed by
mental health professionals
(51%), followed by law enforcement officials (45%) and judges
(4%).
• The most common evidence type indicated was “harm only”
(72% of those with
harm as an evidence type), followed by “neglect only” (17%),
and “both neglect and
harm” (6%).
• The median age of individuals subject to Baker Act initiation
was 37 years, with
almost 16% of initiations for individuals 17 years and younger
and slightly over 9% of
initiations for individuals 65 years and older.
• Gender was almost equally divided, with 52% of examinations
for males and 48% for
females.
• The majority of individuals were White (73%), with the
remaining individuals being
Black/African-American (18%), Hispanic (7%), Asian (<1%)

and other (1%).
3
INTRODUCTION
In 1971, the Florida Legislature enacted the Florida Mental
Health Act, a comprehensive revision of the
state’s mental health commitment laws. The law has been
referred to widely as the “Baker Act” in honor
of Maxine Baker, the former state representative from Miami
who sponsored the Act. Since the Baker
Act became effective in 1972, multiple legislative amendments
have been enacted to protect individuals’
civil and due process rights.
A substantial reform of the law occurred in the 1996 Florida
legislative session. The 1996 reforms
included greater protection for persons on voluntary and
involuntary status, strengthening of informed
consent and guardian advocacy provisions, and expanded notice
requirements and provisions for
suspension and withdrawal of receiving and treatment facility
designations. The substantial protection
provided by the Baker Act helps to ensure that such intrusive
and restrictive treatment is used
appropriately to promote positive outcomes.
One provision in the revised law requires all receiving facilities

to send a copy of every involuntary
examination initiation form (i.e., reports of law enforcement
officers, certificates of mental health
professionals and court issued ex-parte orders) to the Florida
Agency for Health Care Administration
(AHCA) on the next working day after the person arrived at the
facility (Section 394.463 F.S.). The
Policy and Services Research Data Center at the Louis de la
Parte Florida Mental Health Institute has
agreed to serve as the repository of these forms, and to carry out
the data entry and analytic functions for
the AHCA.
Section 394.463 F.S. also requires AHCA to submit an annual
report to the Department of Children and
Families, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and the minority
leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. This is the
seventh Annual Report under the
revised provisions and addresses initiation forms for
examinations initiated from January 1, 2003 through
December 31, 2003, with some additional analyses of data
received from January 1, 2000 through
December 31, 2003.
Understanding what the data are not is as important as
understanding what they are as they relate to
policy decisions made from these data. The data analyzed for
this report are from initiation forms
received. However, a certain percentage of individuals for
whom forms were received were never
admitted to the Baker Act receiving facilities because, for
example, they were not found to meet criteria.
The data also do not allow for a determination of what occurred
after the initial examination. The data
cannot tell us how long individuals stayed at the facility and if

so whether they continued on a voluntary
or involuntary basis. Also, the Baker Act Reporting Center
does not receive data on involuntary
placement. Involuntary placements can be up to six months in
length per order. (Due to statutory
changes that took effect in January 2005 the BA Reporting
Center is currently receiving involuntary
inpatient and involuntary outpatient placement orders on behalf
of the AHCA). Therefore, the data in
this report do NOT speak to involuntary placement – only
examination. Finally, there is anecdotal
evidence to suggest that some people who have a Baker Act
initiation spend some or all of the up to 72
hours of their Baker Act initiation at non-receiving facilities
subsequent to being medically cleared. The
Baker Act Reporting Center does not receive forms for these
initiations of individuals who are never
transferred to a Baker Act receiving facility after being
medically cleared because only receiving facilities
are required to submit forms.
Data for calendar year 2003 were analyzed at the state, county
and facility levels, and are presented in this
report. For additional information about the Baker Act and the
Reporting Center, please visit the FMHI
website at http://bakeract.fmhi.usf.edu.
4
http://bakeract.fmhi.usf.edu/

TECHNICAL NOTES ABOUT DATA ANALYSES
Forms were received to document 109,682 involuntary
examinations conducted in calendar year
2003. Less than one percent of forms received in calendar year
2003 were missing the date of
examination initiation (n = 778). Data from these forms were
not included in the analyses because
the year of exam could not be determined. However, the small
percentage they represent of the
total means that this does not impact the results.
Duplicate forms were defined as any forms with the same social
security number on cover sheets
attached to initiation forms dated on the same day or within
three (3) days of each other. Given that
the Baker Act allows for a maximum of 72-hours to conduct the
involuntary examination, forms
initiated within three days of each other are likely to be for the
same initiation or episode of care.
Five percent (n = 5,082) of forms for exams initiated in 2003
were identified as duplicates and taken
out of the analyses.
There were data for 104,600 examinations initiated in 2003
analyzed for this report (after taking out
data for forms that were missing the date of initiation and/or
were identified as duplicates).
Some percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
There are also technical nuances to variables having to do with
counties, which are important to
consider when interpreting the analyses presented in this report.

There are three county data
elements in the Baker Act Data:
1. County of Initiat on i
The county in which the Baker Act examination was initiated,
which may be different from the county of the
Baker Act receiving facility at which the individual is
examined.
2. County of Facility
The county in which the Baker Act receiving facility is located.
3. County Residence of the Individual Examined
The county in which the person who is examined lives (from the
cover sheet).
In many cases the county of initiation is the same as the county
of the facility, which is the same as
the county of residence for the person being examined. Our
experience is that for many analyses
the county used for purposes of categorization does not affect
the results significantly. However,
there may be circumstances in which the county of analysis used
makes a difference in the results.
For example, there are situations where facilities are located
close to county lines, making it more
likely that out of county individuals will have examinations at
these facilities. There are some
arrangements within Department of Children and Families
Districts and even across districts that
relate to the movement of individuals within the system that can
affect how information is
interpreted.

5
While law enforcement and the forms from judges designate the
county, the mental health
professional form does NOT ask the individual completing the
form to indicate the county in which
the initiation takes place.1 Therefore, in some prior analyses
we have used the county of the facility
as a proxy for the county of initiation for mental health
professional forms. This means that in
these analyses counties that do not have a Baker Act receiving
facility will not show any mental
health professional initiated examinations, although some may
actually be initiated by mental health
professionals in that county. This is, in part, an artifact of the
lack of a field to indicate county on
the mental health professional form (so that mental health
professionals who initiate an examination
in a county with no facility will have the county designated as
the county of the facility – not the
actual county of initiation). Such nuances need to be
considered when making statements about
trends in the data and policy decisions based upon the data.
Also, the county of residence of the individual examined is
missing for a small percentage of
records. This is because a small number of forms are sent in
with no cover sheet, while others do
not provide this information.

In sum, careful attention should be paid to these nuances when
policy decisions or policy
statements are being based on the information in this report or
prior reports. There are
additional nuances to the data that are beyond the scope of this
report, but that may be
relevant to certain uses of the information in the report. This is
especially true if the issue
focuses on a specific locality. Staff at the Baker Act Reporting
Center are available to
discuss these issues for those in need of additional consultation.
Unlike prior annual reports, the county of residence of the
person examined was used for all
analyses that required categorization according to county
1 This has been addressed with a form change that will take
effect in 2005 that has added this variable to the mental health
professional initiation (BA52) form.
6
STATE LEVEL ANALYSES
The number of forms received at the BA Reporting Center has

increased each year, with a 58%
increase in the number of forms (i.e., examinations) from 1997
to 2003.
Figure 1: Count of Involuntary Initiation
Forms Received - 1997 to 20032
Count of Initiations by Calendar Year
2003: 109,682 1999: 77,159
2002: 104,564 1998: 73,900
2001: 94,784 1997: 69,235
2000: 83,285
These increases may indicate an increase in
involuntary examinations overall, could reflect
better reporting by receiving facilities, or a
combination of these two factors.
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
1997 1999 2001 2003
Calendar Year
As discussed in the Technical Section, analyses were conducted
on the 104,600 unduplicated forms
received from identified Baker Act Receiving Facilities.
Initiation can be done by authorized mental health

professionals, law enforcement officers, or by a
circuit judge. The majority of initiation forms were completed
by mental health professionals
(53,412 or 51%), followed by law enforcement officials (47,471
or 45%), and judges (3,713 or 4%),
as presented in Figure 2. These are identical percentages to
year 2002 data and similar to analyses of
data from prior years.
2 These numbers are slightly different from those in reports
from prior ye
number of forms received per year as opposed to the number of
forms
are very close in number. The negative of using the number of
forms
percentage of forms for the prior year are received. The
negative of us
actually conducted each year is that a small percentage of forms
are mis
these are very fine points related to the data that do not change
the ove
forms received in each year compared to the numbers in Figure
1.
Men t a l
H ea lt h
P r ofess ion a l
51%
La w
E n for cem en t
45%

J u dge
4%
Figure 2: Type of Initiator
The majority of mental health
professional initiations were by
physicians (86%), followed by
licensed clinical social workers
(8%), psychologists (3%), and
psychiatric nurses (2%).
ars because in the past we have reported the
for examinations in each year. These counts
received in a year is that in each year a small
ing the number of forms for examinations
sing this date (so are not counted). However,
rall pattern as can be seen in the number in
7
The Baker Act form required the initiator to check boxes
indicating at least one of the following
reasons as evidence justifying the examination.
• without care, the person is likely to suffer from neglect

resulting in real and present threat of
substantial harm that cannot be avoided through the help of
others; or
• there is substantial likelihood that without care and treatment
the person will cause serious
bodily harm to self or others in the future, as evidenced by
recent behavior.
One of the following was then recorded in the database.
• “neglect”
• “harm”
• both neglect and harm (both categories checked)
• neither neglect nor harm (neither category checked)
Figure 3: Distribution of Evidence Type
Statewide, “neglect only” was indicated on
17% (n = 18,181) and “harm only” was
checked on 72% (n = 75,204) of forms.
Both “neglect combined with harm” was
indicated on 6% (n = 6,444) of the Baker
Act forms. Evidence type information was
missing from 5% (n = 4,771) of the forms.3
Figure 3 shows the distribution of evidence
type.
N eglect On ly
17%
H a r m On ly

72%
N eglect &
H a r m
6%
U n k n own
5%
3 The “Unknown” evidence type indicates that the boxes on the
forms meant to indicate the evidence type were left blank.
Although
forms also contain written information documenting the
evidence type, the volume of data received and the ambiguity of
some
information on the forms means that in the absence of a checked
evidence type, written information is not interpreted to
determine
the evidence type.
8
Figure 4 presents the distribution of harm type. “Harm to self

only” was the most frequently
indicated type (51,781 or 72% of forms for which harm type
was known), followed by “harm to
both self and others” (14,275 or 20%) and harm to others only
(5,804 or 8%) on forms indicating
harm as an evidence type.
Figure 4: Distribution of Harm Type
H a r m t o self
72%
H a r m t o
ot h er s
8%
H a r m t o Self
a n d Ot h er s
20%
Statewide Demographic Analyses
The summary of the demographic background of those
individuals subject to involuntary
examination in Florida is available from information collected
on the cover sheet completed by
Baker Act receiving facility staff. A total of 97,509 forms
(93%) were received with social security
numbers representing data from 75,521 individuals. Seventeen

percent of people experienced more
than one initiation in calendar year 2003, ranging from 2 to 50
Baker Act initiations.
Table 1: Count of Baker Act Initiations within Calendar Year
2003 by Number of Exams per Person
Number of Exams Number of People Number of Exams Number
of People
1 62543 12 15
2 8454 13 8
3 2536 14 5
4 968 15 2
5 459 16 4
6 235 17 1
7 144 18 1
8 67 19 1
9 45 22 1
10 19 23 1
11 10 27 1
50 1
9

Age
Date of birth information necessary to compute age was
complete on 101,463 or 97% of forms.
The median age from these 95,487 initiations was 37 years
(mean or average = 38; SD = 18.30).
Gender
Five percent of the forms for examinations in 2003 did not
contain information on gender (n =
4,941). Of the remaining forms, 52% were for males (n =
51,365) and 48% were for females.
Race/Ethnicity4
f
4 The term “race/ethnicity” is used because race terms (e.g.,
White, Black) and ethnicity terms (Hispanic) were written on
the form in
a blank marked “race.” A more accurate approach is to
determine the race of the individual and then ask whether he/she
is of
Hispanic origin. The current cover sheet does not require this
distinction. However, this issue has been addressed with a form
change that will take effect in 2005 that has added check boxes
to the cover sheet to indicate both race and ethnicity.
The individual completing the cover sheet is asked
to write in the race of the client in a blank labeled
“race.” Forms with Black, African-American or
abbreviations of these (such as “AA” and “B”)

were coded as Black. Forms with White,
Caucasian or abbreviations of these (“C”, “CA”,
and “W”) were coded as White. Forms with
Hispanic or abbreviations for this term (“H” or
“Hisp”) were coded as Hispanic. The information
written in this field tells us the perception of the
individual completing the form. As presented in
Figure 5 there were 94,662 forms (90%) indicating
a race/ethnicity. The majority of the initiations
were for White individuals (73%), followed by
Black (18%), Hispanic (7%), Other (1%), and
Asian (<1%).
COUNTY LEVEL ANALYSES
Table 27 presents the number of Baker Act examinations by the
county of residence of the person
examined based on the county of residence as provided on the
cover sheet completed at receiving
facilities. These numbers differ somewhat from those reported
in prior reports because the county of
examination initiation was used to categorize county in prior
reports. Information is reported for years
2000 through 2003. Data from prior years (1997 through 1999)
are not reported because the cover sheet
from which the county of residence is obtained was not put into
effect until 1998.
The AHCA Area, Department of Children and Families District
and the Judicial Circuit associated with
each count are included in the table. This will allow the reader
to aggregate information based on these
geographic distinctions.
It is important to keep in mind the nuances related to county

variables (see pages 5-6 of this
report) when interpreting the information in this section of the
report. Some counts may reflect
artifacts o the data submission, such as completion of the
county of residence variable on the
cover sheet.
Bla ck
18%
Asia n
1%
Wh it e
73%
H ispa n ic
7%
Ot h er
1%
Figure 5: Race/Ethnicity of Individual’s Examined
Asian
<1%
10
ANALYSES BY FLORIDA COUNTIES

The count of forms received by county of residence for data
received in calendar years 1999 through
2003 are presented in Table 2. Populations statistics are
provided to put these results in context.
Table 2: Baker Act Initiations by County of Residence of
Person Examined
2000 2001 2002 2003
County of
Residence
2004
Estimated
Population5
% of Total
Exams
Statewide
AHCA
Region
DCF
District/
Region
Judicial
Circuit # % #

%
# % # %
Statewide6 17,514,157 80,226 90,368 99,772 104,600
“Homeless”7 981 1.22 1,069 1.18 1,755 1.76 1,945 1.86
Missing 10,685 13.32 10,937 12.10 10,994 11.02 10,352
9.90
Alachua 235,756 1.37 03 03 08 596 0.74 707 0.78 757 0.76 802
0.77
Baker 23,785 .14 04 04 08 63 0.08 100 0.11 58 0.06 81 0.078
Bay 157,507 .91 02 02 14 649 0.81 960 1.06 1,001 1.00 959
0.92
Bradford 27,507 .16 03 03 08 68 0.08 86 0.095 81 0.08 77 0.07
Brevard 519,972 3.0 07 07 18 2,955 3.68 3,555 3.93 4,140 4.15
4,377 4.18
Broward 1,739,962 10.0 10 10 17 6,145 7.66 7,147 7.91 7,953
7.97 8,004 7.65
Calhoun 13,673 .08 02 02 14 49 0.06 74 0.081 73 0.073 45 0.04
Charlotte 156,325 0.9 08 08 20 539 0.67 538 0.60 544 0.55 592
0.57
Citrus 129,046 .74 03 13 05 592 0.74 623 0.69 704 0.71 582
0.56
Clay 161,898 0.9 04 04 04 263 0.33 288 0.32 607 0.61 625 0.60
Collier 308,232 1.7 08 08 20 611 0.76 644 0.71 748 0.75 728
0.70
Columbia 61,097 .35 03 03 03 162 0.20 179 0.20 190 0.19 253
0.24
Dade 2,388,528 14 11 11 11 7,133 8.89 8,797 9.73 10,391 10.41
10,940 10.46
DeSoto 34,676 .20 08 Suncoast 12 141 0.18 136 0.15 117 0.12
139 0.13
Dixie 15,217 .09 03 03 03 50 0.06 59 0.07 65 0.07 62 0.060
Duval 842,822 4.9 04 04 04 3,042 3.79 3,665 4.06 3,673 3.68
4,443 4.23

Escambia 307,246 1.8 01 01 01 1,570 1.96 1,628 1.80 1,745
1.75 1,873 1.79
Flagler 65,719 .34 04 12 07 221 0.28 192 0.21 234 0.23 299
0.29
Franklin 10,648 .06 02 02 02 64 0.08 49 0.05 61 0.06 73 0.07
Gadsden 46,928 .28 02 02 02 196 0.24 204 0.23 224 0.22 215
0.21
Gilchrist 16,136 .09 03 03 08 34 0.04 43 0.05 63 0.06 55 0.05
Glades 10,930 .06 08 08 20 28 0.03 31 0.03 18 0.02 13 0.01
Gulf 15,910 .09 02 02 14 42 0.05 57 0.06 74 0.07 61 0.06
Hamilton 14,084 .08 03 03 03 26 0.03 40 0.04 27 0.03 42 0.04
Hardee 27,702 .16 06 14 10 72 0.09 69 0.08 88 0.09 95 0.09
Hendry 38,040 .22 08 08 20 67 0.08 60 0.07 110 0.11 132 0.13
Hernando 144,755 .82 03 13 05 829 1.03 919 1.02 948 0.95 997
0.95
Highlands 92,342 .53 06 14 10 433 0.54 463 0.51 471 0.47 509
0.49
5 Source of population statistics: Florida Department of Health
Office of Planning, Evaluation & Data Analysis;
http://www.floridacharts.com/charts/chart.aspx
6 These total counts by year are slightly lower than the counts
by year in Figure 1 because duplicates have been identified and
taken
out of analyses for number presented in this table (this typically
represents about 5% of the forms received annually)
7 This is the count of forms with cover sheets in which the word
“homeless” was written in the county of residence space. This
is
NOT an accurate reflection of the true number/percentage of
people who are homeless who experience an examination as
many of

them may have had a county of residence recorded or may be
included in the group with no county of residence recorded.
Changes in the cover sheet that take effect in 2005 have been
made to try to more accurately collect information on this
variable.
11
Table 2: Baker Act Initiations by County of Residence of
Person Examined (continued)
2000 2001 2002 2003
County of
Residence
2004
Estimated
Population
% of Total
Exams
Statewide
AHCA
Region
DCF

District/
Region
Judicial
Circuit # % #
%
# % # %
Hillsborough 1,107,418 6.3 06 Suncoast 13 3,728 4.65 4,975
5.51 4,823 4.83 5,155 4.93
Holmes 19,131 .11 02 02 14 55 0.07 64 0.07 88 0.09 92 0.09
Indian River 124,589 .71 09 15 19 555 0.69 590 0.65 588 0.59
577 0.55
Jackson 49,851 .29 02 02 14 148 0.18 215 0.24 219 0.22 202
0.19
Jefferson 13,853 .08 02 02 02 62 0.077 71 0.08 78 0.08 83 0.08
Lafayette 7,570 .04 03 03 03 15 0.018 19 0.02 20 0.02 27 0.03
Lake 251,091 1.4 03 13 05 755 0.94 1,190 1.32 1,227 1.23
1,323 1.26
Lee 514,379 2.8 08 08 20 1,545 1.93 1,594 1.76 1,699 1.70
2,161 2.07
Leon 261,230 1.5 02 02 02 1,086 1.35 1,011 1.12 1,129 1.13
1,059 1.01
Levy 37,707 .22 03 03 08 116 0.15 142 0.16 138 0.13 155 0.15
Liberty 7,333 .04 02 02 02 58 0.07 55 0.06 24 0.02 35 0.03
Madison 19,323 .11 02 02 03 78 0.10 66 0.07 80 0.08 87 0.08
Manatee 295,708 1.7 06 Suncoast 12 1,378 1.72 1,354 1.50
1,419 1.42 1,379 1.32
Marion 291,923 1.6 03 13 05 1,261 1.57 1,597 1.77 1,644 1.65
1,722 1.65
Martin 138,194 0.8 09 15 19 254 0.32 744 0.82 742 0.74 765
0.73
Monroe 80,531 0.5 11 11 16 449 0.56 455 0.50 406 0.41 518
0.50
Nassau 65,271 .37 04 04 04 185 0.23 165 0.18 157 0.16 231

0.22
Okaloosa 185,315 1.1 01 01 01 1,016 1.27 861 0.95 762 0.76
1,159 1.11
Okeechobee 37,832 .22 09 15 19 150 0.19 220 0.24 271 0.27
256 0.24
Orange 1,017,037 5.7 07 07 09 4,194 5.23 4,221 4.67 4,613 4.62
4,969 4.75
Osceola 223,847 1.2 07 07 09 644 0.80 604 0.67 651 0.65 813
0.78
Palm Beach 1,246,677 7.1 09 09 15 5,339 6.65 5,605 6.20 7,134
7.15 7,319 7.00
Pasco 386,994 2.2 05 Suncoast 06 2,496 3.11 2,780 3.08 3,037
3.04 3,384 3.24
Pinellas 948,027 5.6 05 Suncoast 06 5,779 7.20 6,584 7.29
7,802 7.82 7,961 7.61
Polk 523,305 3.0 06 14 10 2,622 3.27 2,794 3.09 2,883 2.89
3,068 2.93
Putnam 72,641 .43 03 03 07 249 0.31 198 0.22 239 0.24 296
0.28
Santa Rosa 146,334 .75 01 01 01 522 0.65 557 0.62 586 0.59
646 0.62
Sarasota 219,161 2.0 08 Suncoast 12 1,671 2.08 1,947 2.15
2,076 2.08 2,150 2.06
Seminole 133,564 2.3 07 07 18 1,142 1.42 1,246 1.38 1,571
1.57 1,613 1.54
St. John 357,129 0.8 04 04 07 164 0.20 159 0.18 159 0.16 230
0.22
St. Lucie 405,722 1.2 09 15 19 969 1.21 1,396 1.54 1,770 1.77
1,757 1.70
Sumter 65,941 0.4 03 13 05 152 0.19 218 0.24 247 0.25 189
0.18
Suwanee 38,351 0.2 03 03 03 136 0.17 157 0.17 178 0.18 154
0.15
Taylor 21,178 0.1 02 02 03 94 0.12 79 0.09 111 0.11 116 0.11
Union 14,277 .08 03 03 08 25 0.03 27 0.03 30 0.03 41 0.04
Volusia 481,784 2.8 04 12 07 2,440 3.04 2,735 3.03 2,891 2.90

3,121 2.98
Wakulla 26,010 .15 02 02 02 130 0.16 106 0.12 96 0.10 104
0.10
Walton 49,171 .27 01 01 01 172 0.21 134 0.15 164 0.16 221
0.21
Washington 22,315 .13 02 02 14 86 0.11 114 0.13 106 0.11 92
0.09
12
FACILITY LEVEL ANALYSES
The number of examination forms received in calendar year
2003 for each Baker Act receiving
facility is presented in Table 3. Public receiving facilities are
those that receive funds from the
Florida Department of Children and Family Services for Baker
Act services.
Table 3: Information Presented at the Facility Level
Facilities marked with an asterisk (*) were undesignated as
receiving facilities at some point during the four years,
accounting for the pattern of form submission (such as no or
low form submission for certain years).

Year of
Examination
FMHI
Code
County
Private/
Public
Facility Name
00 01 02 03
999 Unknown Unknown Missing (facility could not be
determined) 1 0 15 2
888 Unknown Unknown Non Receiving Facility 124 98 51 3
2 Volusia Public ACT Corporation CSU & SRT 1,294 1,374
1,503 1,939
4/42 Leon Public/
Private
Apalachee Center for Human Service/
Eastside Psychiatric Hospital8
1,142 1,091 1,203 1,181
36 Broward Private Atlantic Shores Hospital 108 106 249 364
3 Dade Private Aventura Hospital and Medical Center 92 49 74
171
5 Escambia Private Baptist Hospital - Pensacola 1,184 1,140
1,091 1,139
6 Duval Private Baptist Medical Center - Jacksonville 612 689
732 816
110 Bay Private Bay Medical Behavioral Healthcare 638 1,247

1,329 1,171
7 Bay Private Bay Medical Center* 117 9 0 0
9 Sarasota Private Bayside Center for Behavioral Health 641
804 779 956
10 Dade Public Bayview Center for Mental Health, Inc. 283 277
303 415
157 Duval Behavioral Services Management9 68 70 900 565
12 Sarasota Private Bon Secours - Venice Hospital Psychiatric
Institute 351 595 533 1510
13 Okaloosa Public Bridgeway Center, Inc. 335 426 525 631
16 Broward Public Broward General Medical Center 1,258
1,432 1,468 1,197
156 Baker Public Building 57 at Northeast Florida State
Hospital 31 511 27
17 Dade Private Cedars Medical Center 369 333 425 388
20 Charlotte Public Charlotte Community Mental Health
Services 360 356 341 430
27 Hillsborough Private Charter Behavioral Health Systems of
Tampa Bay at Tampa* 151 0 0 0
24/155 Lee Private/Public Charter Glades Behavioral Health
System* 531 0 0 0
29 Marion Private Charter Springs Hospital* 136 0 0 0
30/153 Brevard Public/Public Circles of Care - Adult
Psychiatric Unit & Children’s CSU12 2,801 3,045 3,479 3,595
103 Dade Public Citrus Health Network CSU 0 1899 1724 1597
8 Eastside Psychiatric Hospital is a public receiving facility that
is affiliated with Apalachee Center for Human Services. The
count of
exams for Eastside is included in the Apalachee count because

forms from both facilities are submitted to the Baker Act
Receiving
Facility with the facility indicated at Apalachee Center for
Human Services.
9 Behavioral Services Management is an administrative entity
related to several receiving facilities in Duval County. Forms
in this row
of the table were received from Behavioral Services
Management with no indication of the facility.
10 This number is low because Bon Secours was undesignated
as a receiving facility in 2004.
11 This number is known to under-represent the number of
exams at this facility due to reporting issues. These have been
addressed
by this facility.
13
12 Circles of Care has two designated receiving facilities, one
of which is specifically for children. However, because this
distinction
cannot typically be made with the forms received at the Baker
Act Reporting Center (i.e., those from the children’s unit versus
those from the adult unit) counts for these facilities are grouped
together.
Year of

Examination
FMHI
Code
County
Private/
Public
Facility Name
00 01 02 03
32 Sarasota Public Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Inc. 1,180
1,156 835 1,099
65 Palm Beach Private Columbia Hospital 1,863 2,110 2,446
2,867
75 St. Lucie Private Columbia Lawnwood Regional Medical
Center 464 500 725 858
58 Pasco Private Community Hospital of New Port Richey 601
937 979 1164
33 Dade Public Community Mental Health of South Dade, Inc.
369 423 431 413
40 Collier Public David Lawrence Mental Health Center, Inc.
647 853 832 764
164 Pasco Private East Pasco Medical Center 82
43 Palm Beach Private Fair Oaks Pavilion of Delray Medical
Center 475 564 808 783
44 St. John’s Private Flagler Hospital 405 683 691 694
46 Orange Private Florida Hospital – Orlando 955 1,193 1,338
1,527
69 Highlands Private Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center
– Lake Placid 208 260 225 237
49 Broward Private Florida Medical Center13 761 1,124 1,311
739
38 Broward Private Fort Lauderdale Hospital 128 238 650 932

50 Okaloosa Private Fort Walton Beach Medical Center 746 376
215 738
52 Monroe Public Guidance Clinic of the Middle Keys 190 274
255 268
54 Volusia Public Halifax Behavioral Services 52 29 46 17
55 Volusia Private Halifax Medical Center 1,475 1,675 1,712
1,606
147 Palm Beach Public Healthy
Solution
s Resource Center Glades CSU 126 175 243 247
104 Polk Private Heart of Florida Behavioral Center* 2 0 0 0
15 Broward Public Henderson Mental Health Center 19th Street
CSU 887 849 1,236 1,465
62 Broward Private Hollywood Pavilion Hospital 38 69 62 18
66 Broward Private Imperial Point Hospital 590 655 613 533
18 Indian River Private Indian River Memorial Hospital
Center for Emotional & Behavioral Health
447 490 405 398
128 Palm Beach Private Institute for Mental Health at St.
Mary’s Hospital 482 837 1,011 1,379
67 Dade Public Jackson Memorial Hospital 1444 2,460 3,138
3,883

79 Dade Public Jackson North CMH 95 125 216 285
41 Dade Private Jackson South 661 654 729 741
68 Columbia Private Lake City Medical Center* 0 48 5 0
70 Polk Private Lakeland Regional Medical Center 998 1,199
1,075 1,033
71 Orange Public Lakeside Alternatives, Inc. 3,068 2,736 3,100
3,440
72 Escambia Public Lakeview CSU 657 829 768 648
73 Dade Private Larkin Community Hospital 125 157 182 283
77 Bay Public Life Management Center of Northwest Florida,
Inc. 393 371 394 398
78 Lake Public Life Stream Behavioral Center CSU 969 1576
1,754 1,762
45 Monroe Private Lower Keys Medical Center 304 297 269 337
80 Manatee Public Manatee Glens-Glen Oaks CSU 990 1,027
1,212 1,193
81 Manatee Private Manatee Memorial Hospital 536 550 672
588
82 Marion Public Marion-Citrus Mental Health Center CSU
1,209 1,666 1,783 1,759
84 Hillsborough Private Memorial Hospital of Tampa 87 308
364 784
85 Broward Public Memorial Regional Hospital 3,164 1,671
1,808 2,213

14
13 Florida Medical Center has over time had a designated adult
psychiatric unit and a unit for children and adolescents. These
have been
designated as two separate receiving facilities. However,
because forms received in the Baker Act Reporting Center do
not distinguish
between these units this distinction is not made in the data.
Year of
Examination
FMHI
Code
County
Private/

Public
Facility Name
00 01 02 03
87 Hillsborough Public Mental Health Care, Inc. 2,614 4,355
4,966 4,930
88 Duval Public Mental Health Center of Jacksonville CSU
1,863 1,490 979 661
89 Duval Public Mental Health Resource Center 1,999 2,887
3,150 3,015
92 Dade Private Mercy Hospital, Inc. 1 94 235 245
91 Alachua Public Meridian Behavioral Health Care, Inc. –
Gainesville 755 975 1052 880
158 Columbia Public Meridian Behavioral Health Care, Inc. –
Lake City 218 336 412 444
161 Dade Public Miami Behavioral Health Center 323 416 579
463
93 Dade Private Miami Children’s Hospital 76 125 125 199
95 Pinellas Private Morton F. Plant Hospital 1,614 2,149 2,862
2,892
96 Dade Private Mount Sinai Medical Center 84 121 98 124
98 Dade Public New Horizons Community Mental Health Center
131 171 186 134

99 St. Lucie Public New Horizons of the Treasure Coast, Inc.
982 1033 897 758
102 Dade Private North Shore Medical Center 231 213 250 269
1 Palm Beach Public Oakwood Center of the Palm Beaches
1,034 912 985 1,205
64 Clay Private Orange Park Medical Center 145 1 421 547
120 Seminole Private Orlando Regional South Seminole
Hospital 1,596 1,723 2,083 2,497
105 Dade Private Palmetto General Hospital 349 730 978 1211
90 Osceola Public Park Place Behavioral Health 560 483 447
618
106 Dade Private Parkway Regional Medical Center 389 507
578 625
107 Polk Public Peace River Center for Personal Development
CSU 1,654 1,756 1,925 2,272
108 Pinellas Public Personal Enrichment Through Mental
Health Services, Inc. 2,687 2,691 3,042 3,242
159 Charlotte Private Riverside Behavioral Center 338 320 156
353
76 Lee Public Ruth Cooper Center, Inc. 1,019 1,297 2,103 2,516
113 St. Lucie Private Savannas Hospital 88 1,234 1,616 1,729

114 Seminole Public Seminole Community Mental Health
Center 620 748 547 627
115 Citrus Private Seven Rivers Community Hospital* 386 0 0
0
116 Alachua Private Shands at Vista 618 782 764 866
117 Alachua Private Shands Hospital 112 166 220 220
140 Duval Private Shands Medical Center 74 0 0 269
118 Palm Beach Public South County Mental Health Center
1,961 1,212 1,960 1,249
121 Dade Private South Shore Hospital and Medical Center 106
128 134 158
122 Dade Private Southern Winds Hospital 384 409 449 430
51 Hernando Private Springbrook Hospital 778 1,239 1,132
1,115
123 Pinellas Private St. Anthony's Hospital, Inc. 815 797 952
992
127 Hillsborough Private St. Joseph Hospital 1,063 1,173 1,259
1,594
129 Duval Private St. Vincent’s Medical Center* 147 356 0 0
130 Pinellas Private Sun Coast Hospital 626 817 989 1,089
137 Broward Private Sunrise Regional Medical Center* 423 586
66 0
131 Leon Private Tallahassee Memorial Behavioral Health
Center 856 997 1,025 970

132 Hillsborough Private Tampa General Hospital 380 612 642
517
125 Duval Private Ten Broeck Hospital 983 1,082 1,004 1,146
135 Pasco Public The Harbor Behavioral Health Care Institute
2,383 2,124 2,169 2,454
141 Broward Private University Pavilion Hospital 1,058 1,233
1,182 1,047
8 Pinellas Private Veteran's Administration Hospital - Bay Pines
312 300 220 278
15
Year of
Examination
FMHI
Code

County
Private/
Public
Facility Name
00 01 02 03
144 Alachua Private Veteran’s Administration Hospital –
Gainesville 2 0 0 0
143 Hillsborough Private Veteran’s Administration Hospital –
Tampa 286 329 153 0
162 Palm Beach Private Veteran's Administration Hospital -
West Palm Beach 37 94 97 55
145 Santa Rosa Public West Florida Community Care Center
216 206 250 220
146 Escambia Private West Florida Regional Medical Center
293 336 561 731
160 Dade Private Westchester General Hospital 74 66 47 84
56 Dade Private Windmoor Healthcare of Miami* 658 367 0 0
63 Pinellas Private Windmoor Hospital of Clearwater 573 455
439 273
148 Polk Private Winter Haven Hospital Center for Psychiatry
471 507 672 648

149/150 Orange Private Winter Park Pavilion /Winter Park
Memorial Hospital* 319 430 384 0
151 Brevard Private Wuesthoff Memorial Hospital 291 583 792
961
16
Appendix: Department of Children and Families District Map
(with county names)

17
Figure 4: Distribution of Harm Type
Discussion Posts Expectations

Understanding and Selecting Literature
Content and Quality
Word Count
Grammar, Spelling and Synthesis
"Netiquette” and Decorum
Plagiarism

Understanding and Selecting Literature

Literature
Scholarly literature can be defined as:
empirical or theoretical peer-reviewed articles, published by a
university (i.e. a thesis or dissertation) or journal
thoroughly vetted books by respected professionals in their
respective fields
Every student is required to properly incorporate information
and cite at least two sources matching the definition above in
their discussion
Course material will not count towards literature. While it may
meet the definition for scholarly literature, you are required to
find, select, and incorporate outside sources not provided in the
course.
While legal documents may be useful in formulating your
argument, they do not meet the definition for scholarly
literature in this course.
While other outside sources may be used, at least two sources
(one in support of your position, one in support of the

opposition) must be scholarly literature that fits the definition
above
Any other outside sources must be from quality sources (eg. The
New York Times, Psychology Today). These, however, do not
count towards the requirement for literature.
Information from subpar sources will be totally disregarded
(eg. Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post).

Citing Literature
Students are required to cite their sources using EITHER APA1,
AMA2 or Chicago3 format. This includes in-text citations.
For APA, in-text citations follow the format (Author(s), Year)
For AMA, the citations should follow the main bullet point
above. You can see how each number corresponds to a source.
However, DO NOT use links, as I did. Provide a full citation

containing the information listed below.
For Chicago, in-text citations follow the format (Author(s)
Year)
This means, at the minimum, you must have:
the author(s) name
the year of publication
the publisher (book), university (thesis) or journal title (journal
articles)
the title of the scholarly work.
If you are unable to find ALL of this information, it is not
appropriate literature.
Failure to provide ALL of this information will result in your
source being disregarded as an inappropriate source and no
points will be awarded for the use of literature.
In the past students have used citation generators. This is ill-
advised as they almost always produce citations with missing
information or formatting errors. Please only use the resources
below or a manual produced by the AMA or APA.
1. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
2. http://www.lib.jmu.edu/citation/amaguide.pdf

Finding and Selecting Literature
All UF students have access a wide array of journal and
publications via the UF Libraries
On-Campus Access:
For students on campus, the UF internet will connect you
automatically to most online journals. I’d suggest searching for
journal articles via Google Scholar, which is an excellent
resource for finding appropriate journal articles. If, for any
reason, you are not automatically be directed to the article from
Google Scholar, follow the instructions below:
Go to http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/
On the right side of the screen is a box with four tabs.
OneSearch is automatically selected. Click the "Databases &
Journals" tab.
Enter the title of the journal of interest below "Title begins
with" and hit "Search"
You will be given a variety of options. Look at the year for each

article and select an option that includes that year.
You should be taken to an outside database, such as "Oxford
Journals”, "FLVC Wiley-Blackwell Titles" or one of the many
others
Search the article title, or search using key words to find an
article, in the search bar provided by each respective site. You
should now have access to your journal article.

6
Finding and Selecting Literature:
Off-Campus Access:
I highly recommend using Google Scholar to find journals and

article of interest. You will have access to their abstracts, which
should help you decide if they will be useful to you. To find the
entire journal article or to search through the journal, follow the
instructions below:
Go to http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufproxy.html
Enter your GatorLink and password
Under "Health Center Library" select "e-Journals“
Enter the title of the journal of interest after "Title begins with"
and hit "Search"
You will be given a variety of options. Look at the year for each
article and select an option that includes that year.
You should be taken to an outside database, such as "Oxford
Journals”, "FLVC Wiley-Blackwell Titles" or one of the many
others
Search the article title, or search using key words to find an
article, in the search bar provided by each respective site. You
should now have access to your journal article.

You will lose points for literature if…
Failure to use literature appropriately can result in up to a 14
points
You do not use literature that meets the requirements discussed
in the first section
You do not use proper citations including at least the author(s)
name(s), the year the article or book was published, the
publisher (book) or journal title (journal articles), and the title
of the scholarly work.
You do not use proper in-text citations
You only pull information that was provided to you in the
course

Content and Quality
The Original Post

Original Post: Expressing your Opinion
10 point response: Explains position on the issue supported by
literature without use of biased language.
The student should state their point clearly and concisely, in a
manner consistent with a thesis statement1, that leaves no doubt
as to the poster’s opinion on the topic provided.
Failure to address the topic will result in a loss of twenty points
for both content sections of the rubric

The student must use professional, unbiased language. This
means forming a response using literature, not a response based
upon personal experience. While your personal experience will
undoubtedly shape your perspective, the discussion post is not
the place to discuss it. Your responses should be purely
academic, and must use at least one article to support your
point.
1. http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

Original Post: Discussing the Opposing Opinion
10 point response: Explains opposing position supported by
literature and addresses why this is not the best fit.
A strong argument must acknowledge the opposition’s opinions
The student should state the opposition's position (eg. "Some

people may argue that…"), use literature to support this point of
view (eg. "This is supported by x article, which states…"), and
then rebuff it (eg. "While this may be the case, what proponents
of this fail to understand is…").
A strong argument should be able to find holes in the
opposition’s argument
At least one piece of literature should be used to support the
opposing opinion’s point of view

Reply Post Content
5 point response: Student acknowledges original poster's
opinion and provides literature further supporting or opposing
this opinion
Each response must acknowledge the poster’s opinion and
provide literature that further supports or opposes the opinion.
Students must provide new information that furthers the
discussion. No points will be awarded for repeating facts,
figures or statements that were covered in either student’s
original post.
While the same literature used in the original post may be cited,
new information must be pulled from it
Students are expected to discuss the information in the post,
either by pointing out a flaw, or adding further support. This is
not the space to critique your peers, or offer suggestions for
improvement. It is an opportunity to respond to their thoughts in

a way that furthers discussion.

Word Count
Original Post and Responses

Word Count
Original post: 500 words
The original post must be at least 500. In the past, students have
had some discrepancies with their word processing programs.
The grader is not responsible for these discrepancies. Make sure
your post is 500 words or more.
Responses: 250
Each response must be 250 words long. Salutations, such as "Hi
Rachel" and critiques such as "I really liked how you used
outside sources" are not appropriate for the discussion posts and
will not be counted as a part of your discussion response.
Total: 1000 words
Citations and the "Works Cited" section do not count towards
the final word count
If more than 10% of your writing is direct quotations or
rephrasing of another student’s work, the grader reserves the
right to withhold points for word count.

Grammar, Spelling and Synthesis

Grammar and Spelling
5 points: Spelling and Grammar is appropriate for an
undergraduate at the University of Florida.
Word processing programs are not fool-proof or completely

accurate. They will not catch every error.
Proofreading can help significantly decrease grammar and
spelling errors
While this class is not an English class, it is still important to
be able to argue and communicate ideas in a clear, professional
manner. Students are expected to have an understanding of basic
spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and formatting.
Common errors are listed in the next slide. More than three
singular errors will result in a deduction of two points and more
than seven will result in a deduction of all five points.
Fatal errors will result in the loss of all five points and are
listed in the following slide

Common Errors:
Each misspelled word
Each sentence fragment
Each run-on sentence
Each improperly capitalized word
A single nonsensical sentence (more than one becomes a fatal
error)
Each error in verb tense or subject/verb agreement
Each sentence that ends a preposition
Each error in citation formatting
Each error in punctuation (especially failure to utilize commas)
Fatal Errors:
Unprofessional language, including, but not limited to, swearing
in a post, political rants, or the use of highly biased language
will result in a loss of all five points
Failure to separate posts into paragraphs
Errors so significant that they impair understanding of the post,
such as multiple rambling or nonsensical statements
Major synthesis errors, such as the use of “stand-alone”
quotations (see slide 21)

18
What is Synthesis?
Synthesis is incorporating the work of others into your own
writing in a way that enriches and strengthens it.
Failure to synthesize is a form of plagiarism in which another
writer’s work is used without appropriately discussing or
connecting the information to your work.
Common violations include:
Using large quotations to avoid writing and to make meeting the
word limit easier
Using stand alone quotations
You can avoid this by putting the work into your own words or
by using only small quotations that are less than a sentence
long.

Stand Alone Quotes
A stand-alone quote is one that looks like this:
Grading a discussion post with stand alone quotes is very
difficult. “There is no prevailing journal or author that is a
leader in reporting on knowledge synthesis methods...This may
lend itself to inconsistencies and variations in methods making
it challenging for researchers and research users to locate and
appraise these articles” (Perrier, Lightfoot, Kealey, Straus &
Tricco, 2016). It irritates the grader and is lazy writing.
You need to synthesize. You need to discuss how what you’re
quoting relates to your larger point. For instance, this particular
quote is completely irrelevant to this message when written like
this. You cannot put information in haphazardly without
addressing why it is relevant.
Review more here:

https://cincinnatistatewritingcenter.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/d
irect-quotations-stand-alone-quotations/

Stand Alone Quotes
A better way for me to do this would be to write:
Many students had difficulty understanding how to properly
synthesize their work. This understandable given that a review
of research on proper synthetization strategies found that there
is no author or journal that is recognized as the chief authority
on knowledge synthesis (Perrier et al., 2016).
Notice how no quotations were used. Because I put the work
into my own words, it’s been appropriately synthesized, and
they are unnecessary. A good rule of thumb for quotes is that if
it's a unique phrase, or longer than three words pulled directly

from the source, it should be in quotes.
Alternately, I could have written:
Many students had difficulty understanding how to properly
synthesize their work. This understandable as “There is no
prevailing journal or author that is a leader in reporting on
knowledge synthesis methods...” (Perrier et al., 2016). Given
the absence of such journals or authors, it is imperative that
students review my instructions on how to synthesize in this
course.
When I do this way, the quote reads as a portion of the larger
text, and the statement preceding and following it make it clear
why the quote was included.
Any quote that is not connected to your discussion, any quote
that stands alone in your paper, can and will result in an
elimination of all grammar points.
Perrier, L., Lightfoot, D., Kealey, M. R., Straus, S. E., &
Tricco, A. C. (2016). Knowledge synthesis research: a
bibliometric analysis. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology.

"Netiquette" and Decorum
Given the online nature of this class, many students feel
comfortable expressing their opinion. While this is to be
encouraged, student may only express their opinions in a
respectful, professional way.
Avoid blanket statements (eg. "drug addicts are selfish" or
"people choose what they want to look like") as they can be

offensive and are often incapable of being supported.
Any post that attacks, belittles or demeans other students will
result in a zero on the pertinent section(s). There are no
exceptions to this.
Any post that is not professional or academic in nature will face
a severe point deduction

Plagiarism: Honor Code Violation
Students who submit assignments without proper citations
(Violation 3.A.1), that copy in whole or part from other sources
(Violation 3.A.2), or that reuse information from previous
submissions (for instance, using the same sentence or paragraph
in multiple responses to peers which is in violation of 3.B.1) are
breaking the UF Honor Code.
If you are unfamiliar with the University's Honor Code, please
brush up on it1 as any violations will result in a zero on the
assignment, and potentially being referred to the honor court,
which can lead to expulsion from the university.
1. https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-
code/

Plagiarism and Citations
Discussion posts require outside research. As such, they require
citations. Failure to cite is plagiarism.
Students are required to cite their sources using either APA1 or
AMA2 format. This includes in-text citations.
Direct quotes should not be used, except in small part (less than
a sentence, limiting any direct quoting to a short phrase or
figures) and information should be synthesized, put in your own
words and cited within the text appropriately.
If you choose to use APA citation, make sure to include a
Works Cited section at the bottom of your essay. If you have
any questions about citations please feel free to message me.
Furthermore, students cannot reproduce their own work. Your
responses are required to be unique, reference new ideas in
each, and personalized to each essay. DO NOT copy and paste
your own work, as it is against the Honor Code.

2. http://www.lib.jmu.edu/citation/amaguide.pdf

Plagiarism – Summary
Failure to use in-text citations, even if a works cited section is
provided, will result in your discussion post being treated as if
no outside support was used
Failure to synthesize is plagiarism and will result in a zero
Failure to cite is plagiarism and will result in a zero
Failure to use quotations and appropriate in-text citations to
mark direct quotes is plagiarism and will result in a zero
Failure to use original thought is plagiarism and will result in a
zero

Reusing facts, figures, and ideas is self-plagiarism and will
result in a zero

27
Instructions
The U.S. Constitution has long held that to restrict a person's
freedom must require that the good for the government

overarches those freedoms protected by the constitution. In
Florida the state has argued that the need to protect the
individual and the public in general is one of those overarching
situations. Thus, the state has passed both the Baker Act and
the Marchman Act around mental health and substance abuse
issues and or concerns.
Please read about both these pieces of legislation (Baker Act
and Marchman Act) and take a side whether you agree or
disagree that the personal freedoms of individuals can or should
be disregarded or superseded by these laws. You must take
defend your stance pro or con for each of these statutes. Each
statute imposes different demands on individual rights and
freedoms.
Please choose a position and post a 500 (or more) word
discussion post outlining your position. Make sure to consider
all sides of the prompt. This is worth 30 points. Then post two
250 word (or more) professional response to the posts of your
peers. Each response (up to two) is worth 10 points. Research
literature should be appropriately synthesized into all three of
your posts.

The Florida Mental Health Act (The Baker Act) 2003 .docx

The Florida Mental Health Act (The Baker Act) 2003 .docx

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