Frequently Asked Baker Act Questions

By Paul Brown


Not many people are familiar with the Baker Act this is because its practiced only in the region of Florida. There are certain Baker Act questions that need to be clarified in order to give individuals a better understanding about it. Its only when someone is affected by it that he begins to gather information about it.

As not many people are familiar with it, so the first question that many of them ask is, what this Act is all about. The truth is, this particular Act was put in place to protect the rights and freedom of people who suffer from severe mental health issues. If you are worried about someone close to you and think they might be suffering due to their mental illness and require urgent help then you could ask for help using the Baker Act.

In some cases people misuse this particular law and try to use it for their own benefit. If you are worried that your family member will wrongly use this Act against you to take over your property then you should not worry about much. You will only be affected if you really suffer from a serious mental health problem. To ensure they do not succeed, you should give voluntary consent to the authorities so that they can assess your mental health. Once a professional diagnosis is done, no one can take any further actions against you.

Although closed friends and family members are usually concerned more about your well being than any one else. But, to ensure that every vulnerable individual is provided with support, you can Baker Act anyone who you think requires urgent help. Just report them to the local authority and then they would take such matters in their own hands.

This particular law is only applicable in Florida. You won't find traces of it in any other part of the USA because this law was specifically passed for Floridians. This is because every state has its own lay therefore it cannot be applied anywhere else.

You ought to remember that those people who are experiencing extreme psychological issues should be immediately Baker Acted. Aside from that you can't force this Act on somebody who needs to go to recovery for his medication compulsion since it has nothing to do with any mental issue. Emotional instability is totally not quite the same as compulsion and reliance.

In extreme circumstances even the police obliged to get involved especially when the person could potentially harm other individuals. If you have access to a licensed weapon, it could be taken from you until you become mentally stable and its assured that you are no longer a risk to the community.

You have no right to misuse it in any way possible because you would be held liable for all the decisions you make at the end of the day. There are certain points mentioned very clearly in the law and everyone has to follow those points in a precise manner otherwise you will end up doing the wrong thing. If possible, try to resolve the situation calmly instead of involved the authorities in the whole situation.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment