Paper Example on Florida Mental Law: The Baker Act (1971)

Introduction

As a way of enhancing mental health care, nations have been striving to establish approaches that aim at improving the condition. The Baker Act is a Florida mental law that was established in 1971 (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). The law allows individuals with mental problems to be held involuntarily for about 72 hours in a mental health treatment facility to determine their condition (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). The law is initiated by judges, law enforcers, doctors, and other individuals that deal with mental conditions (Swanson et al., 2016). For individuals to be held involuntarily under the law, there must be a reason that demonstrates that they are suffering from mental problems (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). Mental illness may impact an individual to refuse to participate in a voluntary examination, and the condition may force government officials to introduce the Baker Act (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). Additionally, when a person is suffering from mental illness without any treatment, they are likely to experience more harm, and the effect may be directed to others (Lemieux, 2020). As such, the Baker Act is introduced to control people suffering from harming themselves and others. Based on the outcome within the 72 hours, an individual may be released outright or directed to outpatient treatment (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). The school setting is one of the areas that subject individuals to different conditions, which affect their self-control. When they lose power, they are likely to harm themselves and others.

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Statement of the Problem

The application of the law in schools has triggered an argument on the effect of the Baker Act among children. The research reviews impact of the application of Back Act in a school setting to determine its position in the learning program. Hence, the study assists in determining whether the law brings harm or support to children.

Literature Review

In the 19th century, there was an increase in the number of children suffering from mental illness in school settings (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). In the 1970s, mental health and children’s rights were major debates that revolve around the school system (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). As a way of improving the health condition of children in school, mental health questionnaires were introduced, which assisted in implemented the Baker Act (Lemieux, 2020). The questionnaires were meant to assist nurses and other health officials in determining the health state of children by assessing their behavioral reactions (Swanson et al., 2016). The approach was deployed to ensure mental health children are prevented from harming themselves and others (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). Additionally, the establishment of the law assisted parents and schools in determining particular mental issues affecting children. The approach assisted in the introduction of early treatment, thus avoiding the vital impacts of the mental condition (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). Through the action, parents, teachers, and health care providers have socially managed to collaborate to improve the learning ability of a child. Furthermore, the approach has assisted in introducing other learning ability to improve mental performance.

Parents are responsible for all the activities that influence children. As such, they are mandated to determine the health condition of children. As a way of improving the welfare of children, parents are required to know and decide assessment systems that are used in determining their health (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). However, the application of Baker Act eliminates the role of families in care services, and the condition has caused more harm to both the parents and children. It is the right of every child to acquire a better education. As such, parents are responsible for supporting children to ensure they get the best education (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). As such, parents have the right to determine the kind of services a child should receive in school. However, the application of Baker Law violates the right and engages other activities as a way of determining their mental health.

Over the past ten years, more than 7,500 children from public schools in Tampa Bay have temporarily placed under mental health care assessments (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). When leaving the school for mental health assessment, they are under handcuffed and an escort of police. Due to the fear of the condition, a large number of students appear to be depressed (Lemieux, 2020). The fear has been associated with the rise of attempt suicide (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). Lack of parental consent and improper dealing with students has triggered more harm to children. In the mental health facilities, where children are housed together with adults, they are subjected to sexual and physical harassment (Swanson et al., 2016). A large number of girls have been exposed to sexual harassment, and the action has negatively affected their life (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). For instance, in 2015, an eight-year-old girl was infected by HIV/AIDs after being raped by a 22-year-old man (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). This is a clear indication of how the law has caused a lot of harm to children.

Despite a lot of outcries, the government of Florida has done little toward addressing the issue. In regard, the government does not track what is happening in the learning institution (Lemieux, 2020). Despite the state supporting learning, children have been left behind, and the application of Baker Act has highly affected their education (Swanson et al., 2016). Due to a lack of better assessment systems, 90 percent of the number of children that have forcefully been taken to mental health facilities have appeared sober (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020).

Since the establishment of the law, more than 10,000 report cases have been filed (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). In which most of them involve children being subjected to conditions that violate their rights. In more than two-thirds of the cases, police officers do not communicate with the parents (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). In case the parent learned about the condition, they tend to lose trust, which is a vital aspect that may affect learning. Lack of parental connection has hindered the push for the respect of human rights.

Methodology

The qualitative research collected data from secondary sources. Materials for the research were collected from a credible and updated database. An in-depth evaluation was conducted to determine the most suitable materials for the research. The search terms used for the research include Baker Act Law, Florida Education, and Mental health. Different inclusion and exclusion characteristics, such as studies within Florida, were deployed when collecting the sources. Five articles, whose publication and studies were carried out within nine years, were selected from Google Scholar. The selected articles were used in the development of the literature review and answer the research question.

Findings

The establishment of the Baker Act Law has been associated with a lot of harm to children in school. The continuous application of the law has affected the education system in Florida. Sober individuals have been taken to mental health facilities, especially when showing a change in behaviors (Hamilton, Briggs, & Roe, 2018). Due to environmental changes, there are high chances that individuals may experience emotional changes, which may affect their behaviors (Ankersen, Pownall, & Menashe, 2020). When such a condition occurs, children are forcefully taken to mental health facilitates, and the action triggers to rise of other issues. Additionally, children who are housed together with an adult have been subjected to harassment, either physical or sexual. The condition has negatively affected the learning system (Dharmapala, McAdams, & Rappaport, 2018). On the other hand, the application of Baker Act Law has assisted in detecting mental issues of children at an early stage, thus introducing treatment before the condition becomes worse. As such, it becomes easier to avoid such a child from harming themselves and others.

Conclusion

The establishment of the Baker Act Law has brought a lot of harm in school as compared to advantages. A large number of children have emotionally and physically suffered due to the effect of the law. Thousands of children are taken for mental health facilities each year. The government has abandoned, and it is doing little toward the law. In some cases, the law eliminates the connection between parents and children, which triggers to emotional torture. When a child lacks parental care, they tend to develop other issues such as anxiety and depression, which affect their learning. Despite the law safeguarding children suffering from mental conditions from harming themselves and others, it is associated with a lot of harm. The government needs to intervene and introduce other strategies that will assist in controlling the negative effects of the law. Through the approach, parents, children, and schools will benefit from the advantage part of the law.

References

Ankersen, T. T., Pownall, B., & Menashe, A. (2020). Adaptation action areas in Florida. Reporter, 40(3). http://eluls.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-Environmental-and-Land-Use-Law-Section-Reporter-January-2020.pdf.

Dharmapala, D., McAdams, R. H., & Rappaport, J. (2018). The effect of collective bargaining rights on law enforcement: Evidence from Florida. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2526&context=law_and_economics.

Hamilton, P. M., Briggs, K. M., & Roe, M. M. (2018). Florida occupational therapy laws and rules. https://wildirismedicaleducation.com/courses/592/Florida-OT-Laws-Rules-CE-Wild-Iris-Medical-Education.pdf.

Lemieux, A. (2020). The Baker Act: Time for Florida to get its act together. Child and Family Law Journal, 8(1), 5. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjsw-bSnbrpAhWw0eAKHQi0CO8QFjABegQIAxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Flawpublications.barry.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1045%26context%3Dcflj&usg=AOvVaw38URSJ4rYGfMp5t3rLVvoG.

Swanson, J. W., Easter, M. M., Robertson, A. G., Swartz, M. S., Alanis-Hirsch, K., Moseley, D., & Petrila, J. (2016). Gun violence, mental illness, and laws that prohibit gun possession: evidence from two Florida counties. Health Affairs, 35(6), 1067-1075. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0017.