The Baker Act is a Florida law that provides for involuntary treatment for people with mental illnesses. The law allows them to be involuntarily held for up to 72 hours for examination or treatment in a mental health treatment facility if, due to the mental illness, they are a danger to themselves or others.
It is possible that a person could be court ordered into involuntary treatment for up to 6 months. The law specifies three criteria for involuntary examination:. AND one of the following ,. The law specifically excludes intoxication from the Baker Act's definition of mental illness, or conditions manifested only by antisocial behavior or substance abuse impairment.
Often, a Baker Act Examination is initiated by a phone call to one of the above professionals by desperate loved one. Regardless of whether the involuntary examination is initiated by the courts, law enforcement, or an authorized mental health professional, law enforcement is responsible for transporting the person to the nearest receiving facility for the examination. Law enforcement may have an arraignment with an ambulance company that will transport. Law enforcement has no responsibility to transport persons for voluntary admissions or if they do not meet criteria for involuntary examination.
A person can be held for up to 72 hours for the purpose of determining if further voluntary or involuntary treatment is necessary. Within the hour examination period, one of the following three actions MUST be taken based on the individual needs of the person:.
The person must be released unless he or she is charged with a crime, in which case the person must be returned to the custody of a law enforcement officer. The 5-day period established in section Question One Section The patient shall not be released by the receiving facility or its contractor without the documented approval of a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.
However, a patient may not be held in a receiving facility for involuntary examination longer than 72 hours. The statute specifically states that "[t]he hour period begins when the patient arrives at the hospital and ceases when the attending physician documents that the patient has an emergency medical condition.
The patient shall be released, unless he or she is charged with a crime, in which case the patient shall be returned to the custody of a law enforcement officer; 2. The patient shall be released, subject to the provisions of subparagraph 1. The patient, unless he or she is charged with a crime, shall be asked to give express and informed consent to placement as a voluntary patient, and, if such consent is given, the patient shall be admitted as a voluntary patient; or 4.
A petition for involuntary placement shall be filed in the appropriate court by the facility administrator when treatment is deemed necessary; in which case, the least restrictive treatment consistent with the optimum improvement of the patient's condition shall be made available.
When the language of a statute is clear and unequivocal, the legislative intent may be determined from the words used without applying incidental rules of construction.
Question Two Section If a person is retained by a receiving facility or involuntarily placed in a treatment facility and involuntary placement is recommended, a petition for involuntary placement must be filed with the court. The hearing shall be held in the county where the patient is located and shall be as convenient to the patient as may be consistent with orderly procedure and shall be conducted in physical settings not likely to be injurious to the patient's condition.
Firearms or ammunition seized or voluntarily surrendered under this paragraph must be made available for return no later than 24 hours after the person taken into custody can document that he or she is no longer subject to involuntary examination and has been released or discharged from any inpatient or involuntary outpatient treatment provided or ordered under paragraph g , unless a risk protection order entered under s. The process for the actual return of firearms or ammunition seized or voluntarily surrendered under this paragraph may not take longer than 7 days.
Law enforcement agencies must develop policies and procedures relating to the seizure, storage, and return of firearms or ammunition held under this paragraph.
These documents shall be considered part of the clinical record, governed by the provisions of s. These documents shall be used to prepare annual reports analyzing the data obtained from these documents, without information identifying patients, and shall provide copies of reports to the department, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Emergency treatment may be provided upon the order of a physician if the physician determines that such treatment is necessary for the safety of the patient or others. The patient may not be released by the receiving facility or its contractor without the documented approval of a psychiatrist or a clinical psychologist or, if the receiving facility is owned or operated by a hospital or health system, the release may also be approved by a psychiatric nurse performing within the framework of an established protocol with a psychiatrist, or an attending emergency department physician with experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness after completion of an involuntary examination pursuant to this subsection.
A psychiatric nurse may not approve the release of a patient if the involuntary examination was initiated by a psychiatrist unless the release is approved by the initiating psychiatrist. Within the examination period or, if the examination period ends on a weekend or holiday, no later than the next working day thereafter, one of the following actions must be taken, based on the individual needs of the patient: 1.
The patient shall be released, unless he or she is charged with a crime, in which case the patient shall be returned to the custody of a law enforcement officer;. The patient shall be released, subject to subparagraph 1. The patient, unless he or she is charged with a crime, shall be asked to give express and informed consent to placement as a voluntary patient and, if such consent is given, the patient shall be admitted as a voluntary patient; or.
A petition for involuntary services shall be filed in the circuit court if inpatient treatment is deemed necessary or with the criminal county court, as defined in s. When a petition is to be filed for involuntary outpatient placement, it shall be filed by one of the petitioners specified in s.
A petition for involuntary inpatient placement shall be filed by the facility administrator.
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