BY ELENA VALDEZ
In 1971, the chairperson for the Mental Health Committee of Florida, Maxine Baker, proposed an act which would allow people in crisis to be committed to a psychiatric institution for 72 hours, offering immediate help to those who truly need it.
However, seldom is this actually the case. The Baker Act has an extremely high recidivism rate, meaning it’s not unlikely to be put under the act repeatedly following the first time. This faulty policy creates more problems than it solves.
It has been over 40 years since the Baker Act was set in place and throughout the years, issues with the act and rights it may inhibit have been brought to light and amendments have been made. However, the issue is not with the small details and fine print found within the act. The issue is the act itself.
For 72 hours, people under the Baker Act are taken to wellness centers or psychiatric hospitals where they must undergo a series of questioning and group activities in an attempt to not only diagnose them if there is no preexisting diagnosis, but also teach them coping skills and provide resources for when they are feeling certain ways.
Three days are not enough to properly assess one’s entire life and mental state.
Screenings and psychological testing occur throughout a patient’s stay. This may offer new insight into a patient’s psyche and aid in curating a treatment plan, but this does not give a definite diagnosis. Three days are not enough to properly assess one’s entire life and mental state. It may make the patient feel even more out of control and at a loss for hope, which is counterproductive to helping them get better in the first place.
To be Baker Acted, an individual must meet all three criteria as laid out by the act. The first requirement is simply that there is reason to believe a person is mentally ill and it may impair their ability to function and/or perceive reality. Because of this impairment, they most likely refuse voluntary help or are unable to determine when they need help, which is the second criterion they must meet. The third and final requirement states that the individual may cause harm to themselves or others.
The first responders to these people in crisis are usually police officers, firefighters, teachers and other untrained mental health professionals. In the midst of deciding if one should be involuntarily taken to an institution for 72 hours, the delicacy of the situation is not handled correctly. There is so much fragility in these moments that it can be traumatic to those experiencing it.
An individual on the verge of suicide cannot be handled like they are being arrested or interrogated.
These situations require sympathy and patience, which is why the responders should be educated and well-experienced professional psychologists. When trying to save the life of someone at risk, it’s vital to understand their needs and where they are coming from.
An individual on the verge of suicide cannot be handled like they are being arrested or interrogated.
There has been a nearly 64 percent increase in the amount of people Baker Acted over the past decade. Mental health awareness and acceptance have increased as well, but as shown by the statistics, this high number raises certain questions.
How effective is the Baker Act if the number of individuals committed keeps growing?
It seems that those in need of help are just being dumped into these facilities for a long weekend and then thrown back out on the street. Adolescents are among the most affected by this trip to a mental health facility.
By Baker Acting a student, the school is removing them from campus and thus, believes they are decreasing the potential for harm occurring. Students may come to their school’s mental health providers and claim they are having urges to harm themselves and sometimes, most frighteningly, others. The school is then legally required to put a Baker Act on the student once these words are heard.
Words such as these are not always concrete. Someone can say they want to die without genuinely meaning it. Members of society, especially today’s teenagers, are casually suicidal and differentiating between those who actually mean it and those who are just saying it as a form of escapism is challenging.
Using the same one-size-fits-all solution for different mental illnesses is ineffective.
But the common philosophy is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Because of this, Baker Act rates have increased and the number of suicidal teens keeps growing. Sending teens away to a facility for 72 hours and then providing little to no resources afterward is not the help they need.
Florida’s mental health epidemic has reached the point of crisis with so many cases. However, it remains 44th in the United States for mental healthcare funding and access.
If Florida wants to help its mentally unwell citizens, more money must be allocated to the right types of services, those more accessible and individually focused. No two cases are the same and, when one’s mental health is on the line, they cannot be treated as though they are.
There is no end-all-be-all cure for mental illness. The only thing society can continue to do is raise awareness and increase acceptance. Using the same one-size-fits-all solution for different mental illnesses is ineffective. The Baker Act is an outdated legal model that admits more patients than it can cure.
Photo courtesy of Doug Diaczuk
