The Community Alliance For the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) is an advocacy group for people enrolled in

residential treatment A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-di ...

programs for at-risk teenagers. The group's mission includes advocating for access to advocates,

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

, alternatives to aversive behavioral interventions, and alternatives to restraints and

seclusion Seclusion is the act of secluding (i.e. isolating from society), the state of being secluded, or a place that facilitates it (a secluded place). A person, couple, or larger group may go to a secluded place for privacy or peace and quiet. The se ...

for young people in treatment programs. They have also called for the routine reporting of abuse in residential treatment programs, as well as

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

oversight and

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

of residential treatment programs.

Structure

CAFETY is registered as a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

corporation in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is governed by a volunteer board of directors and also maintains an advisory board. CAFETY's current executive director is Kathryn Whitehead. As one of its key spokespeople, she has been featured in ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' and ''

The NewStandard ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

''. Whitehead's and CAFETY's work on the issues of trauma and human rights abuses of youth in residential care, respectively, has also been published in the '' American Journal of Orthopsychiatry''.

History

CAFETY was founded in 2006 by Charles King and Kathryn Whitehead, with the goal: "to create a forum for youth advocacy and support designed to develop and shape youth-guided policies and practices with a specific emphasis on the ethical treatment of youth with behavioral, emotional, and mental health problems in institutional settings"."Challenges and Opportunities in Children's Mental Health, A View from Families and Youth"; Sarah Dababnah and Janice L. Cooper; July 2006; Page 2
Publication
/ref> By July of that year, CAFETY had 118 members and 8 core group members from across the United States, including at least one medical professional.

Campaigns

CAFETYs' 'Care, NOT Coercion' Campaign seeks to end institutionalized child abuse and human rights violations in institutional settings. The organization additionally advocates for the regulation of, and the efficacy in treatment in such settings. In pursuit of that objective, CAFETY has chiefly focused its efforts on actively mobilizing its members in public education efforts and supporting and providing testimony in support of legislation aimed at the regulation of residential treatment facilities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Public activism and outreach

From late 2007 through 2008, a broad coalition of grass roots efforts, prominent medical and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...

organizations that included members of CAFETY, provided testimony and support that led to the creation of the ''Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008'' by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

."Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008"
Official bill language from the U.S. Congress. Retrieved 7/17/08. In support of this effort, Jon Martin-Crawford, a member of the group's board of directors and Kathryn Whitehead, the group's executive director,"CAFETY Board of Directors"
. Community Alliance For the Ethical Treatment of Youth. Retrieved 7/17/08. appeared at a hearing before the

on April 24, 2008,"Child Abuse and Deceptive Marketing by Residential Programs for Teens"
Official testimony to the U.S. Congress. Retrieved 7/17/08. where they described abusive practices they had experienced at the

Family Foundation School Allynwood Academy, formerly the Family Foundation School, was a private school, private, co-educational, college preparatory school, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school located in Hancock (town), New York, Hancock, New York (state), ...

and

Mission Mountain School Mission Mountain School was a therapeutic boarding school for girls located in Condon, Missoula County, Montana. It operated from October 1, 1990, to August 16, 2008. On that date, the school graduated its last class and ceased operation, announci ...

, both

therapeutic boarding schools A therapeutic boarding school is a residential school offering therapy for students with emotional or behavioral issues. Description The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs listed 140 schools and programs as of 2005. Therapeut ...

."Transcript of testimony of Jon Martin-Crawford"
Official transcript from the U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 14, 2009."Transcript of testimony of Kathryn Whitehead"
Official transcript from the U.S. Congress. Retrieved June 14, 2009. On February 19, 2009, CAFETY co-sponsored a press briefing on Capitol Hill in an effort to raise awareness of youth maltreatment in residential care. In October 2009, the CAFETY sent an unsolicited mass-mailing to 4,000 residents of Delaware County, using a mailing list compiled by "going through the white pages of Delaware County phone books" alerting the residents of abuse allegations at a local therapeutic boarding school called the

. The two page mailing included a page of excerpts from alumni testimony alleging abuse. The allegations in the letter were dismissed by Jeff Brain, the Family Foundation School's vice president for external relations and acting director of admissions by telling a newspaper that "all the allegations are categorically untrue or grossly exaggerated ... and determined to be unfounded." CAFETY and its members also held a teens' rights rally held in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

. At the rally, Chris Noroski, vice president of CAFETY, stated that while he was at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, New York, he was mentally and physically abused, stating "For seven months of the time, I carried buckets of rocks back and forth". On April 5, 2011, CAFETY was quoted in an article for ''Time'' called "Increasingly, Internet Activism Helps Shutter Abusive 'Troubled Teen' Boot Camps". CAFETY, along with the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Therapy, and the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

, was a major supporter of the bill H.R 911, "Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act", which was introduced in the U.S. Congress in 2009 and passed in the House of Representatives, but was not acted upon in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and did not become law. H.R. 911: Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009
Retrieved May 7, 2011.

References

External links

Official Facebook page

Official Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Community Alliance For The Ethical Treatment Of Youth Child welfare activism Youth rights organizations based in the United States Youth-led organizations Disability rights organizations Disability organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.