A 6-year-old Florida girl was committed for two days to a mental health facility without her mother's consent after allegedly throwing a temper tantrum at school, an attorney for the family said. The child was allegedly given anti-psychotic medications at the center, also without the permission of her mother, Martina Falk.
The mother is now demanding answers from officials at Love Grove Elementary School in Jacksonville for their handling of the Feb. 4 incident. Falk's lawyer, Reganel Reeves, said that a mental health counselor was called to the school because Nadia was reportedly having a tantrum and throwing chairs.
The counselor evaluated Nadia, who has ADHD and has been diagnosed with a mood disorder, and determined that she needed to be committed under the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971, commonly known as the Baker Act. This gives social workers the power to initiate involuntary holds on children as young as 2 without the need for parental permission.
Parents were not called or informed about the incident until after Nadia had been committed to the facility. Nadia is also unable to communicate what happened to her mother because of her disability. All she has been able to say was "Mommy, they locked the door. They wouldn't let me out. Mommy, they gave me a shot."
Deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office were called to the school to assist and take Nadia to the facility. Police body-camera footage shows the girl calmly walking out of the school.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/6-year-old-girl-was-committed-mental-health-facility-without-n1137376
I don't understand why the counselor gets to determine if she needs to be committed under the Baker Act. It doesn't seem like just the counselor should be able to make such a big decision like that. If they aren't going to talk with the parents about what they should do, then they should at least talk to doctors as well. This story makes me upset because a little girl, a disabled little girl, isn't going to know what to do or what is even happening. An adult that she trusts has to be involved in this kind of situation. Even if they decide that she needs to go to a facility, they should have informed the parent right away. I hope that the counselor and others involved are getting some type of consequence for their actions.
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