 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Annette McGaha, PhD, John Petrila, JD, LLM, Diane Haynes, MA, Paul Stiles, JD, PhD, and Kristen Hudacek, MA. Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, Florida Mental Health Institute, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL 33612, 813-974-7419, mcgaha@fmhi.usf.edu
The involuntary civil commitment of children is a controversial issue about which there are few empirical reports. Florida is the only state to centrally collect and analyze involuntary psychiatric examination data on a statewide basis. These data present a unique opportunity to explore what happens to children who are subject to an involuntary examination. In calendar year 2002 there were 105,000 involuntary examinations in Florida; almost 11,000 (about one-sixth) were children. Using claims and utilization data available to the author, this paper will present preliminary analyses on the multiple systems that these children encounter. These systems include the child welfare system (34% of the children with involuntary examination orders); emergency management services (27%); and services funded by Medicaid (44%) and state-funded mental health services (49%). The policy implications of these data will be discussed, as will methodological issues specific to working with both identified and de-identified data in large archival data sets.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Mental Health Services
Related Web page: bakeract.fmhi.usf.edu
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.