Mom Wants Answers After 6-Year-Old Was Sent To Mental Health Center Without Permission

A frustrated Florida mom is demanding answers after her 6-year-old daughter was sent to a mental health facility without her permission. Martina Falk told several news outlets that her daughter Nadia went to Love Grove Elementary School in Jacksonville last Tuesday, which is part of Duval Public Schools, and was reportedly taken to a behavioral health facility after she exhibited behavior the school felt was "out of control."

Earlier this week, Falk told News4Jax that her daughter went to school that morning and everything seemed perfectly fine. "Then, a couple of hours later, I got a call saying that she is so uncontrollable that they had to Baker Act her," she told the news outlet. The Baker Act is a Florida law that gives third party authorities the ability to "provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention" if they feel their mental health is putting them at risk or making them a risk to others, according to the University of Florida.

Falk told News4Jax she had no forewarning that the school would be sending her daughter to a mental health facility for an evaluation without her permission or knowledge. "They called me and said ‘Ms. Falk we’re calling to let you know that there’s nothing else we could do,'" she recalled to the news outlet. "There’s nothing else you could do for my 6-year-old? When she was taken to that hospital to be locked away in this isolation, seclusion room. They said they did that as an attempt to calm her down. My baby was scared. She wanted me.”

Falk told reporters at a press conference this week that her daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD and a mood disorder, according to the Associated Press. A county sheriff's report shared by CBS News stated that Nadia was "out of control" the morning she was taken away and placed in a facility for 48 hours for observation. The report also claimed that she allegedly destroyed school property and ran out of the school. According to CBS News, Falk also noted that her daughter is on medication and said she specifically placed her in this school because it offers classes for "children with special needs."

"I was assured they would take care of her and they had staff specifically trained to help her and this is the help I get — a psychiatric hospital," Falk told News4Jax.

Romper's request for comment from Duval Public Schools was not immediately returned, but a spokesperson told CBS News that they are standing by the school's decision: "We've reviewed the school's handling of this situation and find it to be compliant both with law and the best interest of this student and all other students at the school." Meanwhile, Falk remains concerned about the long-term effects this could have on her daughter, telling the Florida Times-Union her daughter was "traumatized" by the incident.