The Baker Act and Parental Rights, What You Need to Know as a Professional

Tampa Bay area attorney and former Assistant Public Defender of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Carmen Miller, Esq., was the featured speaker at the seminar on mental health rights.

The headquarters for CCHR Florida are located in downtown Clearwater.

As reported by the Baker Act Reporting Center, an almost 36,000 involuntary psychiatric examinations were initiated on children across the state.

It is a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children.

An experienced speaker who received certification on the Baker Act, Florida’s mental health law, through the Department of Children and Families, Diane Stein is sought after on topics involving mental health human rights.

The webinar is designed to give professionals a basic understanding of the legislation passed over the past two years to protect children and parental rights.

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — Almost 36,000 involuntary psychiatric examinations, called a Baker Act, involving children were initiated in 2019/2020 and many started in a school setting. Mental Health Human Rights advocates, such as CCHR, have long charged these seizures of children circumvented the rights of parents and pointed out that children are the fastest growing demographic. [1]

Fortunately, during the past two legislative sessions, the efforts of concerned citizens, CCHR and other mental health activists, helped to pass bills, including the School Safety Bill and the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which now offer new layers of protection – giving back to parents their right to choose when it comes to their children’s mental health. [2]

In order to ensure that professionals understand these changes and how they relate to the rights of parents and protection of children, the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is sponsoring a live complimentary webinar with attorney Carmen Miller, Esq. on Saturday, October 29th from 1:00pm to 2:30pm.

“Parental rights are fundamental and it is vital that professionals authorized to Baker Act a child know and understand these rights in order to protect children,” states Diane Stein the president for CCHR in Florida.

The learning objectives for the webinar include:

1. Understanding the legal context and intentions of the Baker Act.

2. Understanding the laws regarding involuntary examinations and how they relate to parental rights.

3. Identifying the basic human rights impacted by the Baker Act.

The webinar is complimentary and open to anyone wishing to attend but it is specifically designed for Mental Health Counselors, Clinical Social Workers, Marriage Family Therapists, Master Social Workers and Law Enforcement. Anyone interested in attending the event should call 800-782-2878.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR’s mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health. The Florida chapter of CCHR is an award-winning nonprofit in the area of mental health human rights and government relations. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: “Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the ‘free world’ tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of ‘mental health,’” he wrote in March 1969.

Sources:

[1] Baker Act Report https://www.usf.edu/cbcs/baker-act/documents/usf_fy2019_2020_baker_act_annual_report.pdf

Diane Stein
Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida
+1 727-422-8820
email us here

CCHR Florida – Parental Rights & The Baker Act