Florida's new mental health law aims to improve crisis response and care

New guidelines for emergency mental health services in the state of Florida, specifically focusing on individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, will go into effect on Monday, July 1.
A portion of HB 7021 Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed into law, updates the Baker Act, which currently provides individuals with emergency services and temporary detention for up to 72 hours.
The new legislation is expected to change the evaluation and intake process for individuals, even children, who meet a certain criteria. Parents must also be notified if their kids are being taken in.
Palm Beach County attorney Mark Astor's practice focuses on getting these individuals into the right services. According to Astor, the Baker Act process has been traumatic, especially for children, and lacks follow-up care after they’re released.
“We specialize in saving families when their loved ones have substance abuse and failed attempts of recovery, but a big part of what we do is getting people who have been illegally Baker acted here in Florida,” Astor said.
"This is great, but it doesn’t change anything in the real world," Astor responded when asked about the new legislation.
The legislation allocates $50 million to the Department of Children and Families for mental health and substance abuse care, ensuring these funds will go towards services for patients once they’re released.
Something Ezsa Allen, a South Florida family mental health therapist, is hopeful about.
“I’m very ecstatic that some aid and funding is coming towards our arena, if you will, help people get the help they need,” Allen of Social Age Counseling said.
But these experts question law enforcement’s role in the new law. It gives them more discretion to initiate involuntary examinations.
“If this law is going to give them more access, then the training should come with it as well so that everyone is safe,” Allen said.
“We have law enforcement, who are not clinicians, making a clinical determination and then exercising discretion. I think that’s a big mistake. Frankly, I don’t think law enforcement acting alone, should be able to baker act somebody,” Astor added.
The new law also prevents courts from placing developmentally disabled individuals into state facilities.
Attorney Mark Astor highlights the need for oversight to prevent abuse and ensure timely assessments.
“The idea behind the Baker Act is that somebody should be assessed, they should be stabilized, and they should be released. The problem is it’s very easily abused. It’s very easy to circumvent the due process requirements of the statute, and as a result, people get stuck there and nobody knows they’re even there. That’s where the abuse really starts to take off,” Astor said.
For mor information visit cbs12.com/news/local/floridas...
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