For Receiving Facilities

The Baker Act Reporting Center was established in 1997 to collect, process, analyze and report on statewide Baker Act exam initiation data. As of 2018, The Baker Act Reporting Center also collects petitions and orders for involuntary placement from County Clerks of Court. 

The Center works closely with Baker Act receiving facilities across the State to facilitate the timely and accurate submission of Baker Act forms in order to assist providers with compliance with Florida Statute 394.463.

After receiving involuntary examination forms from providers through electronic methods, data processing staff transfer electronic files for data entry by placing files in a processing folder. Staff then enter pertinent data from the Baker Act forms into a SQL database. Throughout the data collection process, Center staff perform various validation tests to address data quality before analyzing the data for reports.

The Baker Act specifies that receiving facilities must submit the following Baker Act forms to DCF within five working days. The receipt of these forms by the Baker Act Reporting Center on behalf of DCF is addressed in Florida Administrative Code (65E-5).

• Report of Law Enforcement Officers Initiating Involuntary Examination (CF-MH 3052a)
• Certificate of Professional Initiating Involuntary Examination (CF-MH 3052b)
• Ex-parte Order for Involuntary Examination (CF-MH 3001)

Baker Act receiving facilities are required to include a Cover Sheet to the Department of Children and Families (CF-MH 3118) with the 3052a, 3052b and 3001 forms as specified in Florida Administrative Code [F.A.C. 65E-5.280(5)].

As of 5/4/2020 Baker Act Receiving Facilities must submit documents electronically. 

Please contact us at bakeract@usf.edu or (813) 974-1010 for more information about electronic submission options.

No, as of 5/4/2020, providers are required to submit these documents electronically. Please contact us at bakeract@usf.edu for information about this process.

Yes. The provider is required to report full social security numbers (SSNs), unless the SSN is unknown. SSN is an important variable used to identify individuals. It is used to clean data (such as to identify duplicate forms received), to count repeated Baker Act examinations (by counting the number of times each social security number appears in the data) and to link Baker Act data to other data sources.

The Baker Act specifies that receiving facilities must submit Baker Act forms to DCF within five working days. As per F.A.C. 65E-5 the Baker Act Reporting Center receives these forms on behalf of DCF, such that the requirement is to submit the forms to the Baker Act Reporting Center within five working days.

Documents must be saved as .PDF files for processing. No other file formats will be accepted.

Yes. The required file naming format (XXX_MM_DD_YYYY) consists of your facility's unique, 3-digit FMHI# (located before the agency name) and the date (MM_DD_YYYY) the file is uploaded. Note the date of the file is not the day of the exam but the date the Baker Act Reporting Center is receiving the file. If submitting more than one file for a day please use an A, B, or C, etc. afterwards to denote it is a separate file. Please contact the Baker Act Reporting Center for assistance in locating your facility's FMHI#. 

There is no limit to the number of Baker Act documents you may scan into one file. This will depend on many factors such as your agency printer/scanner capacity as well as workflow and volume. However, we ask that Baker Act documents are not scanned individually (DO NOT scan each individual Baker Act document into a single file). Ideally agencies should have one file for each day or week. 

Ideally agencies will have one file for each day(s) or working week. But this will depend on many factors such as your agency printer/scanner capacity as well as workflow and volume. If uploading more than one file for a day please denote that it is a separate file by placing an, A, B, C, etc. after the required file naming format so it is clear that it is not a duplicate file

Occasionally providers submit only Cover Sheets without a BA52a, BA52b or Ex-Parte Order to go along with the Cover Sheet. Data processing staff do not enter data from Cover Sheets without a corresponding BA52a, BA52b or ex-parte order initiating involuntary examination. If the Baker Act Reporting Center receives a cover sheet without an initiation form, staff will contact the facility for resubmission. 

Occasionally agencies are asked to resubmit files for a number of reasons. These include but are not limited to:

· Incorrect file naming format (missing the FMHI# or correct upload date)

· Incorrect file format (did not submit a .pdf file)

· Submitted a Cover Sheet without the BA52a, BA52b or ExParte Order

· Submitted a file that cannot be processed (unable to open, password protected, illegible)

· Submitted a file that does not contain any involuntary Baker Act documentation

· Documents are upside down

Providers are only required to submit the Ex Parte Order along with the corresponding cover sheet. Providers, however, may include other relevant and supporting documentation - e.g., the ex parte affidavit - if the person submitting the Baker Act form is unsure what documents constitute the Ex Parte Order itself.

Click here to view the DCF recommended Ex Parte Order. Be advised, however, that the recommended Ex Parte Order is not mandated by DCF and that court orders vary in their formatting and content.

The earliest executed Baker Act form is typically the valid form. The provider, however, may send both forms if they are unsure of the valid Baker Act form. We have a process for identifying this in the data and analyzing the data accordingly.

Yes. The transmission, receipt, and storage of personal health information (PHI) complies with federal HIPAA regulations and state privacy laws. 

While not required by the Baker Act Reporting Center, it is strongly encouraged for retention purposes and other requirements specific to DCF auditing and designation. Please strategize with your agency IT department to securely scan and store files on your agency network.  Florida Administrative Code 65E-5.280 had changes that went into effect on 5/4/2020.  F.A.C. 65E-5.280(7) states the following: “[d]documentation that each completed form was submitted within the required five (5) business days shall be retained in the person’s clinical record.

Facilities who are unable to meet the 5 working day electronic form submission requirement should contact the Baker Act Reporting Center (bakeract@usf.edu) immediately for further guidance.

Agency staff are encouraged to refer to the common trouble shooting tips provided by the Baker Act Reporting Center and contact us at bakeract@usf.edu. Occasionally, some issues may require the assistance of the agency IT departmental staff.  

We consider any document extraneous that is not a required Baker Act form - i.e., the CF-MH 3052a, CF-MH 3052b, CF-MH 3001 and CF-MH 3118 (Cover Sheet) forms. All extraneous documents, such as voluntary admission forms, Marchman Act forms, involuntary placement orders, and transportation orders, are not entered and securely shredded/stored.

No. Providers are not required to submit a cover letter or face sheet with the Baker Act forms. We consider cover letters and face sheets extraneous documents. These are sorted out of the mail and securely shredded.

Baker Act receiving facilities are no longer required to submit involuntary placements orders to the Baker Act Reporting Center. Florida Clerks of Court are required to submit involuntary placement petitions and orders to the Baker Act Reporting Center.  

No. Data processing staff shred Marchman Act forms as well as other extraneous documents when prepping mail for data entry.

A provider's Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) number is a unique id assigned to designated Baker Act receiving facilities used only for purposes of identification and data analysis. To find your facilities FMHI number, please contact us at bakeract@usf.edu.

Yes, there is no statue or rule restricting the number of licensed professionals as stated in F.S. 394.463(2)(a)3 who have the capacity to initiate involuntary (Baker Act) examinations for individuals meeting criteria so long as the form contains signatures, license numbers and appropriate boxes checked for both professionals.

Yes, all Baker Act examination initiation forms should be submitted to the Baker Act Reporting Center regardless of whether they were later rescinded.

No, as of 5/4/2020, providers are required to submit these documents electronically. Please contact us at bakeract@usf.edu for information about this process.

The public can find the most current versions of the Baker Act forms by clicking here.

For questions about Baker Act form submission not answered in these FAQs, we encourage providers to contact Center staff via email at bakeract@usf.edu. See our Contacts page for more information. This is a general email for the Center, which is checked daily. You may receive a response from one of a few staff at the Baker Act Reporting Center dependent on the nature of your question or request.