This action can be taken if there is evidence of violent or suicidal behavior associated with a severe mental health condition or if the individual is at significant risk of harm due to an inability to care for themselves.
[1] The aim of the Baker Act is to provide a period for assessing the individual’s mental health and addressing any immediate crisis.
Named after Maxine Baker, a former Florida state representative, the act aimed to protect the rights of individuals with mental health challenges by limiting involuntary commitment to those who posed a danger to themselves or others.
For the purposes of this part, the term does not include a developmental disability as defined in chapter 393, intoxication, or conditions manifested only by dementia, traumatic brain injury, antisocial behavior, or substance abuse.
[10] Websites for Florida Judicial Circuits and Clerks of Court contain information about the Baker Act examination process, including how to pursue an ex-parte order.
[11] The Baker Act allows for involuntary examination, which can be initiated by an ex-parte order of a judge, law enforcement officials, or certain health professionals.
[11][14] Examinations may last up to 72 hours after a person is deemed medically stable and occur in over 100+ Florida Department of Children and Families-designated receiving facilities statewide.
[15] A "receiving facility" is defined in the Baker Act as "a public or private facility or hospital designated by the department to receive and hold or refer, as appropriate, involuntary patients under emergency conditions for mental health or substance abuse evaluation and to provide treatment or transportation to the appropriate service provider.
To initiate an involuntary examination, the Baker Act requires that there is reason to believe the individual: The decisive criterion, as stated in the statute, mentions a substantial likelihood that without care or treatment, the person will cause serious bodily harm in the near future.
Furthermore, if there are family members or friends that will help prevent any potential and present threat of substantial harm, the criteria for involuntary examination are also not met.
"[30] Mandatory and suggested forms to use for various activities, as allowed in the Baker Act, are part of a subsection of this Florida Administrative Code, 65E-5.120.
[31] An editorial in the Tampa Bay Times wrote "that crisis stabilization is a Band-Aid solution to emotional problems," and the Act should be reformed to allow public defenders to have access to the patient's medical records and ongoing counseling and outpatient mental health treatment should be provided to the patient.
[34] At the time, Khoury had been legally video recording the officer in public—an activity protected under the First Amendment—when he ordered her to stop and took her into custody.
The lawsuit claims this failure impedes efforts to evaluate the law's impact on vulnerable populations and undermines transparency and accountability in its enforcement.