To keep children from being committed under the Baker Act, some schools are addressing early childhood trauma and changing their approach to student discipline.
Mental Health
In the midst of the pandemic, a new foster care model based on community living and known as a "children's village" has opened up to foster youth on the Cheyenne River Reservation.
Child welfare cases are at a 14-year high months after Los Angeles County’s Dependency Court reopened in June. Families and attorneys are struggling in virtual courtrooms.
Community mourns a leader as annual homeless memorial nears.
Data shows children who are committed under the Baker Act often are referred by school officials. School shootings and other incidents have placed more pressure on officials to intervene.
Each year, about 36,000 children in Florida are involuntarily committed for psychiatric evaluations under the state's Baker Act and disabled kids are becoming increasingly ensnared.
The number of children crossing the southern border is on the rise again. Prince George’s County is helping them cope and learn.
Shiqiao Peng produced this story as part of her participation in the 2020 National Fellowship, a program of USC Annenberg's Center for Health Journalism.
As the state battles a new coronavirus surge, public health officials and lawmakers are grappling with how to better prepare skilled nursing facilities for the next infectious disease crisis.
The number of children who are taken for involuntary psychiatric evaluations in Florida increases every year. This is the first story in a five-part series about how the state's Baker Act affects children.