Florida making incredible strides in mental health

Ed Brimner

By MIKE WATKINS CEO of NWF Health

In a world where critics and naysayers abound, it is vital to recognize the very real fact that our state is making progress – significant progress – in managing mental health services for our children and young adults.
By way of background, let us be reminded that in the wake of the 2018 Parkland shooting, Florida lawmakers passed a comprehensive new law to address several critical elements surrounding the tragedy. One of the areas rarely discussed publicly is the largest and most significant expansion of children’s mental health resources in our state’s history.
How we respond to children’s behavioral health matters. A wide array of interventions was legislated and implemented both in our schools and throughout every Florida community with the goal of promoting safety, preventing trauma, and intervening with youth in crisis. As a result, there are now new ways we administer mental health services in this state and these have made a meaningful and positive difference for hundreds of thousands of children.
Let me offer one clear and shining example by way of the newly conceived and implemented “Mobile Response Teams” (MRTs). MRTs are rapid response teams of trained mental health professionals who provide emergency behavioral health assessments and connect those in crisis with alternatives to inpatient psychiatric treatment when appropriate. These teams are operated by community mental health centers, were designed by law to be a first response alternative, and to be on-site quickly within 60 minutes. And in many rural communities – where meeting such a timeline would be functionally impossible, we are partnering with local Sheriffs to make certain that we meet that requirement.
As a result, one of the easily measurable and positive outcomes has been the avoidance of forced inpatient treatment of individuals, also known as “Baker Acting.” The objective of MRTs is not just to provide immediate support to a person in need, but to also engage the family in their home community to eliminate risk to the individual and to others with wraparound services.
And to be clear, the MRTs don’t just arrive, treat, and leave. They begin the process, where appropriate, of immediately addressing the problem and connecting the family to ongoing treatment services.
Has it worked?
Yes! Fantastically so!
Statewide we have seen a net reduction in Baker Acts (involuntary institutionalization) even while our population continues to grow and even while we suffered through a very stress-filled global pandemic.
In the Northwest region served by NWF Health – the 18 counties from Escambia to our west to Madison and Taylor to our east – we have seen a net reduction of about 15% in Baker Acts (even while our population increased nearly 5%). Perhaps most impressively, in our region, more than 10,000 children have been seen by MRTs and about 80% (yes, 4 in 5!) did not result in-patient treatment – a level of care never before available to our children.
Why is this critical?
When someone is in a crisis mental health state and needs to be involuntarily put into an inpatient setting, that alone can be traumatic. While that is sometimes a necessary part of the treatment protocol, it is good to know those charged with protecting lives and providing treatment have another tool in their tool chest and it appears to be having the desired effect. Our schools, school resource officers, and law enforcement agencies are working together to identify students in need, utilize MRTs to avoid Baker Acts altogether, and improve awareness of students needs post-crisis.
In a complex world of managing mental health and keeping our children safe, there are many aspects underway worth discussing, but it is important to note the largest expansion of student mental health care with specific strategies that are clearly working. Florida lawmakers got this one right and with continued support from Governor and First Lady DeSantis, coupled with their first-in-the-nation childhood resiliency initiatives – it is undeniable that we are on the right track.

Mike Watkins is the CEO of NWF Health Network with extensive experience in the provision of health care, mental health, and child protection services in both the government and private sectors. NWF Health Network serves as the network management agency for child protection and behavioral health in northwest Florida. He can be reached at mwatkins@nwfhealth.org.