Mental Health Rights Expert
Diane D. Stein
Baker Act Reform Advocate · CCHR Florida President · Newsweek Expert
Diane D. Stein accepted a leadership role at the Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) in 2015. Nonpolitical and nonreligious, CCHR is an award-winning nonprofit in the area of mental health human rights and government relations whose mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health. Since that time, she has worked to help restore human rights to the field of mental health and especially in the area of short-term emergency commitment. An experienced speaker who received certification on the Baker Act, Florida's mental health law, through the Department of Children and Families, Diane is sought after on topics ranging from involuntary psychiatric examination and mental health rights to the dangerous side effects of psychiatric medication. As a Newsweek Expert, Diane is regularly interviewed by journalists and investigative reporters on emergency psychiatric holds including those involving children and the violation of parental and child rights under these circumstances.
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Baker Act / Involuntary Psychiatric Examination
Florida law, certified through DCF. How the law is supposed to work, how it is misused, and what reform looks like.
Children Under the Baker Act
37,000 Florida children Baker Acted per year. Parental notification failures, school-based initiations, and lasting psychological harm.
Related clips
SPLC: Costly and CruelDon't Do Nothing Podcast Ep 53 (Sep 2026)CBS 6: Schools & Baker Act (Jan 2019)Parental & Child Rights Under Emergency Holds
When parents are not notified, when children are held without consent, and what the law actually requires.
Related clips
Don't Do Nothing Podcast Ep 53 (Sep 2026)CBS 6: Schools not mandated to have Baker Act policies (Jan 2019)CBS 6: Orlando-area schools increase in Baker Acts after Parkland (Nov 2018)Psychiatric Drug Side Effects & the Violence Link
FDA black-box warnings, the CCHR Violence Report, and the documented link between certain psychiatric medications and violent or suicidal behavior.
Related clips
CCHR Violence ReportDon't Do Nothing Podcast Ep 53 (Sep 2026)The Addiction Podcast: Point of No Return (Jan 2026)For-Profit Psychiatric Hospital Practices
Patient detention, insurance fraud, and the Acadia Healthcare investigation. How financial incentives distort clinical decisions.
Related clips
New York Times: How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps PatientsDon't Do Nothing Podcast Ep 53 (Sep 2026)School-Based Mental Health Screening & Parental Rights
How schools initiate Baker Acts, what parents are and aren't told, and the policy gaps that leave families without recourse.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), Including on Minors
The use of ECT on children and adolescents, informed consent standards, and the case for stronger oversight.
Related clips
Don't Do Nothing Podcast Ep 53 (Sep 2026)Veterans & Mental Health Rights
The intersection of military service, mental health holds, and the rights of veterans and their families. CCHR Florida's advocacy work honoring and protecting those who served.
Related clips
Great Day Live Tampa: Purple Heart Banquet (2024)Great Day Live Tampa: Purple Heart Banquet (2026)TV Segment: Purple Heart Event (2025)
The Southern Poverty Law Center's landmark report, Costly and Cruel, documents how Florida's Baker Act is routinely misused to involuntarily commit tens of thousands of children each year — often without parental consent and with lasting psychological harm.
The CCHR Violence Report further documents the dangerous side effects of psychiatric medications and the systemic failures that put vulnerable patients at risk. Reform is urgently needed.
New York Times Investigation
How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients
The New York Times investigation into Acadia Healthcare exposed how for-profit psychiatric hospital chains use financial incentives to detain patients — including children — beyond medical necessity. Diane D. Stein contributed as an expert source, drawing on a decade of advocacy work documenting these practices in Florida.
Featured Media Appearance
Click to watch on YouTube
Media Coverage & Press Appearances
Southern Poverty Law Center
COSTLY AND CRUEL: How Misuse of the Baker Act Harms 37,000 Florida Children Each Year
The New York Times
How a Leading Chain of Psychiatric Hospitals Traps Patients
Newsweek Expert Forum
Recognized Expert Contributor
Diane D. Stein is a recognized contributor to the Newsweek Expert Forum, where she provides authoritative commentary on mental health law, Baker Act reform, and psychiatric rights. She is regularly sought by journalists and investigative reporters for expert analysis on emergency psychiatric holds, parental rights, and the treatment of minors in the mental health system.
Awards & Recognition
2022 Platinum Award winner — Government Relations · 2022 Social Impact Awards winner · 2021 Honorable Mention — PR News Nonprofit Awards
Baker Act Certifications & Training
Certified on the Baker Act
Department of Children and Families, Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Individual Rights and the Baker Act
Department of Children and Families · June 2015
Minors and the Baker Act
Department of Children and Families · June 2015
Law Enforcement and the Baker Act
Department of Children and Families · May 2015
Media Inquiries
Contact for Media Inquiries
Diane D. Stein is available for interviews, expert commentary, speaking engagements, and consulting.