MISSION:
Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) is a volunteer, youth-driven effort in support of the protection of the human rights of institutionalized youth experiencing behavioral, emotional and mental health challenges.

VISION:

The members of CAFETY envision the day that no young person is harmed in the name of treatment and when youth are empowered to be equal partners in their own care.

VALUES:

We, as CAFETY members have been moved to act by our having suffered egregious human rights violations in residential placement. Others in this community alliance have come to know the suffering of those who have been confined in such programs and are moved to act as well.

1. As individuals who have been placed in some type of residential setting as youth, we acknowledge that present policies to address the needs of youth struggling with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges are inadequate in both scope and reach.

2. We advocate for measures that would effectively help youth and families remain together and find treatment in their community.

3. We recognize that some youth are inappropriately institutionalized and seek to prevent this type of institutionalization and segregation from the community.

4. We also believe that, in the event youth are placed in an out-of-home setting appropriately, the basic human rights of youth must be protected by the state.

5. Appropriate care includes protection from harm, and access to treatment that is transparent, collaborative, and non-coercive. It also means holding providers accountable for the outcomes of the treatment that they provide.

CAFETY’s Projects

Youth Empowerment Program (YEP) will offer critical support and validation to youth survivors by providing opportunities for skill acquisition and the opportunity to educate both their own community or on the national stage such as at academic conferences, family support conferences, youth councils, forums for the purpose of receiving public comment on proposed regulations, legislative hearings, research projects, presentations at bookstores, media outlets, and on our website at www.cafety.org, among other venues.

CAFETY.org: Our website will offer a centralized place for youth to connect with one another while concurrently educating the public about the youth experience. CAFETY.org will offer the kind of transparency programs with closed campuses prohibit, shedding light on what goes on behind closed door and offering easy access to alumni and current students to public officials, parents, the press and other seeking to understand the youth experience.

CAFETY’s Transparency Project will (tTP) conduct surveys of youth currently and formerly placed in residential programs, and identify discrepancies in state policy, and seek to assist present and former participants in addressing grievances. Such action will vary on the type of grievances. Maltreatment will be reported to Child Protective Services, the agency responsible for licensure and the disability Rights Network - protection & advocacy should the program serve youth with disabilities. We will reach out to the press. We will track the responses of such agencies, Seek to identify the failures or regulation obstacles, and make recommendations.
These recommendations will also help inform strategies of CAFETY’s local chapters. For this program we will seek grants from organizations and foundations who have an Interest in researching policies that affect youth.

The Entry Point Project (epp) will attempt to conduct outreach to those individuals who are responsible for the placement of youth in residential programs (i.e. Family Court Judges, Educational consultants, Committees of Special Education, Caseworkers, parents, etc.) to educate them about the alternatives to residential care. This Project will be done in conjunction with the work of the other three projects, By utilizing our data collected and our trained volunteers to provide accurate, in-depth information about particular programs and types of programs. As part of this project we will identify young people who successfully participated in alternatives to residential care to help educate those stakeholders about effective alternatives. For this program we will seek grants from child welfare organizations & foundations, Juvenile Justice Organizations and Foundations, as well as organizations and foundations interested in reducing the number of youth in congregate care placement.

CAFETY Chapters: CAFETY has 3 chapters at this time : CAFETY – CA, CAFETY - TX, and CAFETY - NY. We are seeking to expand representation throughout all regions in the United States.