Who is supposed to care for children in mental health crisis?

FLAGLER COUNTY, FL –When a girl attempted suicide by jumping off a Flagler County bridge several months ago, it revealed a giant hole in Florida’s children’s mental health system.

The girl was known to law enforcement and had been Baker-Acted several times before attempting to kill herself.

The teenager was rescued from the I-95 overpass by two assistants both trained in crisis intervention.

She then thanked them and posed for a photo, posted to Facebook by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. MPs used the hashtag “#FCSO success story” in the post, and although saving the girl’s life was a resounding success for MPs and a classic example of crisis intervention, the incident was a another failure of the Florida mental health system that is supposed to take care of children.

After the girl was saved, she was Baker-Acted again.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said she had been hospitalized several times for her own safety and the cycle continued until one day she attempted to kill herself.

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Staly criticized the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) for not following up and getting the girl to help.

But John Harrell, DCF’s northeast region communications director, said it was not DCF’s responsibility if the child was not in DCF care.

“The Ministry of Children and Families does not receive specific notification from each person receiving an involuntary examination, however, follow-up services can be provided in a variety of ways,” said Harrell. “The Baker Act reception facility directs the person or caregiver of a minor to follow-up care in order to obtain additional services after discharge. “

But for children not taken care of by the DCF, all additional services are the responsibility of the parents.

So if parents aren’t getting help with children’s mental health, who is supposed to?

Anybody.

After months of investigation, News 6 discovered that there is no organization or government agency in Florida responsible for children’s mental health care, even though more and more children are finding themselves in mental health crises, especially during the pandemic.

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The only netting that catches children in crisis that News 6 could find in central Florida is in the town of Lake Mary. And it is entirely voluntary.

News 6 first told you about something called the “Mental health intervention group, ”Or MHIG, earlier this year. It’s a partnership of volunteers, like Youth Advisor Jamie Grover, who are notified by police the first time a teenager is Baker-Acted or comes into contact with the police.

“Usually after a Baker Act, even from a child, they just fell like a rock,” Grover said. “Fallen like a rock. “

Grover is the founder of the Special Needs Advocacy Program in Sanford. Grover said if the Flagler County girl lived in Lake Mary, the police would have informed him of his Baker Act – the first time around – and he would have called her.

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“Programs like MHIG need not only be in Lake Mary, they need to be in every city in our country,” Grover said. “The need is there. “

The MHIG brings together specialists from Seminole County, including pharmacists, doctors, counselors, social workers, pastors, rabbis and even pantries. When police or hospitals refer a patient in crisis, with the patient’s permission, to MHIG partners, the partners offer their patient-specific services or resources to meet their needs, all free of charge.