WFSU
State data shows schools make up nearly a quarter of all origin points for Baker Act referrals.
Data shows children who are committed under the Baker Act often are referred by school officials. School shootings and other incidents have placed more pressure on officials to intervene.
The Baker Act wasn’t designed for kids, yet the number of children being sent for involuntary psychiatric evaluations has continued to go up. State data shows schools make up nearly a quarter of all origin points for Baker Act referrals.
Fear of school shootings and increased pressure to regulate student behavior mean one bad joke can plunge a child, and their family, into the state s mental health system. Beth Carr and her son Chris, discovered this the hard way in December 2016.