CAFETY takes the position that every facility that holds even a single youth against their will for any period exceeding 24 hours must provide youth the opportunity to have access to advocates.
In most state-run facilities youth are entitled to meet with a lawyer in a private setting without any repercussions for having such a meeting. Even when youth are afforded such advocates, the amount that these advocates for youth can do, that the youth would like them to do is limited. Once the court has ordered placement, lawyers and other advocates are usually unable to effectively argue for the discharge or re-placement of a youth. However, even in these circumstances access to advocates serve one very important purpose, the prevention of mistreatment and abuse.
Perhaps the greatest problem at unregulated facilities is the lack of access to advocates and the ability of youth to argue against their treatment without facing serious repercussions. Without the ability of youth to complain about conditions, staff are free to do as they see fit with youth, even if their actions cross the line of commonly accepted ethical standards.Most facilities, even ones that we would consider substandard, do allow youth private access to advocates. It makes you wonder about the ones that don’t.
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