JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Department of Children and Families has introduced a new dashboard that tracks The Baker Act to help get a better idea of how many people need mental health treatment in Florida.
It focuses on crisis services for people who are mentally ill. DCF released the dashboard on its website.
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The dashboard tracks involuntary examinations, meaning emergency mental health services and temporary detention for those who meet Baker Act criteria.
You can filter information by year, demographics, harm type and by area. It gives you an overview, uses graphs to show the trends DCF sees and more.
So far this year, DCF is reporting 3,194 involuntary examinations in Duval County. Of those cases, 503 of them were younger than 17 years old. Representatives from River Point Behavioral Health children experiencing this often need assistance even when they think they are okay. They say a lot of those numbers of children being Baker Acted come from isolation from the pandemic, social media and as well anxiety.
In some cases, people can be Baker Acted repeatedly and eventually have run-ins with police.
Sometimes it ends fatally.
MORE: Deadly weekend violence in Jacksonville puts a spotlight on mental health and policing
Donna Dale, 47, of Hilliard was shot and killed by a Nassau County deputy while holding “BB-style rifle.”
“My children don’t have their mother. She’ll never see them grow up,” her husband Joseph Dale said.
Donna Dale told deputies she had a gun and asked them to kill her, deputies said.
Her family said Dale was Baker Acted three times before the shooting. Joseph said he hoped she would have got some help with her mental health each time, but doesn’t think there are enough resources for people going through mental health crises.
But he also says people have to want help.
It could start with knowing what’s available and having a conversation.
“A Baker Act is a short fix to a longer problem,” said Nichole Wolfson with River Point Behavioral Health which receives patients voluntarily and involuntarily Baker Acted.
She said the Baker Act stabilizes patients for three days, making sure they are safe and getting them on a regimen.
“When you’re kicking habits, it’s 28 days. That is only the first step,” Wolfson said.
After that, it’s about getting the patient into a step-down program or an outpatient program where they can focus on continuing to work on their mental health.
River Point is listed on the DCF Baker Act Dashboard with 1,119 involuntary examinations from July 1, 2023, to May 2024.
Wolfson said the dashboard is a great tool for facilities to know what they are facing.
“That’s going to help be able to look at the diagnosis and tailor care, therapeutic care around it. Next step care,” Wolfson said.
Dale said maybe it will make a difference for people in the future.
While May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and there are consistent efforts to improve people’s mental health, there’s an upcoming holiday Joseph Dale’s children can’t escape.
“It’s going to be Mother’s Day whether their mother is here or not. But I’m sure it goes through their mind. They do miss their mother,” he said.