CCHR Florida Calls for Investigation into Baker Acting of Children in Florida

2024-04-16 02:42:07 Government

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The [Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a non-profit mental health watchdog dedicated to the eradication of abuses committed under the guise of mental health, is calling for an investigation into the involuntary examinations of children under the Baker Act following the release of a report showing a surge in the numbers of children taken into custody. [1]

According to the 2015 Annual Report of Baker Act Data prepared for the Agency for Health Care Administration there were 193,410 involuntary examinations initiated in calendar year 2015. An astounding 32,882 were initiated on minors and in Florida; a child may be removed from school grounds and sent for involuntary examination without parental consent or knowledge.[2]

Spearheading a campaign at the beginning of 2016 to put an end to this violation of parental rights, CCHR has worked to educate families at hundreds of community events in addition to launching a postcard campaign designed to educate parents and guardians on their rights under the law reaching over 140,000 families in the Tampa Bay area.

Our Abuse Case Hotline receives numerous calls from parents whose children were sent for involuntarily examination without their permission or knowledge, said Diane Stein, President of CCHR Florida. And unfortunately in the vast majority of cases these children did not meet the criteria for involuntary examination.

Over the past year CCHR has filed hundreds of complaints with government agencies and State Legislators calling for an investigation into the Baker Acting of minors in Florida as result of the rising statistics for involuntary examinations. The total number of minors evaluated in Florida under the Baker Act increased by 50 percent from fiscal year 2010 to 2015.[3]

As a result, CCHR is calling for the following:

1. Steps to be implemented at a government level to ensure greater oversight and ultimate accountability for the for-profit and not-for-profit psychiatric treatment sector and its billing practices

2. The abusive use of the Baker Act, especially within schools, is stopped and parental rights are restored

3. The number and amount of psychotropic drug-induced suicides are investigated and reduced

4. The unnecessary psychotropic drugging of children and adolescents especially the foster children in this state is stopped, including identifying those psychiatrists responsible for such practices

CCHRs campaign educates citizens on the existing law and provides parents with a form they can fill out and file with their childrens school. This form uses existing state law to help protect parental rights. CCHR has distributed over 20,000 forms to concerned parents in Florida. Families interested in learning more about how to protect their children, or to obtain a copy of the form, are encouraged to visit the CCHR center at 109 N. Fort Harrison or visit the CCHR website,

http://www.cchrflorida.org/florida-non-consent-forms/, to download the form online.

About CCHR:

Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHRs mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections.

It was L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, who brought the terror of psychiatric imprisonment to the notice of the world. In March 1969, he said, Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the free world tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of mental health. For more information visit, [www.cchrflorida.org](http://www.cchrflorida.org/)

SOURCES:

[1] tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/numbers-show-surge-in-baker-act-exams-of-kids-in-tampa-bay-area/2306799

[2] Ibid

[3] Ibid