A 6-year-old girl was removed from her school last week and forced into a mental health facility for an involuntary psychiatric evaluation, according to WQAD 8.
#NadiaKing of Jacksonville, Florida was held under Florida’s Baker Act following an incident at the child’s school, according to a report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Florida’s Baker Act, is a law that enables families and loved ones to provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people who are impaired because of their mental illness, and who are unable to determine their needs for treatment per the university of Florida Health website.
Police were called to the Love Grove Elementary School last week after staff claimed the child was “out of control” and “destroying school property, attacking staff, out of control, and running out of school,” the report said. A clinical social worker at the school told officers that Nadia was “a threat to herself and others” and she was taken to the River Point Behavioral Health for a 48-hour psychiatric evaluation under Florida’s Baker Act, the report states.
Nadia’s mother, #ReganelReeves, was contacted after the decision was made and her child was already being taken to facility, Reeves’ attorney said. CNN reports that between July 2017 and June 2018, there were 36,078 involuntary examinations initiated under the Baker Act for individuals under the age of 18 in Florida, according to a report from the state’s Department of Children and Families.
Reeves said Nadia is a special needs child who had a “temper tantrum at school.” The family’s attorney said Nadia has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD, a mood disorder and is being tested for autism. In a statement, Duval County Public Schools said the school staff followed the district’s protocol during the incident and when they notified the child’s parents, CNN reports.
The school district said a licensed mental health care official made the decision to admit Nadia under the Baker Act. The mental health official was an employee at a private, non-profit community behavioral health care organization, the school district said.”When a student’s behavior presents a risk of self-harm or harm to others, the school district’s procedure is to call Child Guidance, our crisis response provider,” the school district said.
The story is still developing.
