ADVOCACY
Care, NOT Coercion Campaign
The goal of our advocacy work is to challenge the norms surrounding inappropriate and unnecessary institutionalization of youth. We are primarily made up of formerly institutionalized advocates who have empowered ourselves to become active agents of changed. An empowered advocate is one who is open to growth, actively seeks support and feedback from others and challenges him or herself to adapt to changes based on new information.
Recent News:
- Letter in support of proposed amendment in MA to prohibit use of Level III aversives - July 2011
- MTV Commentary:Press Release - True Life: I'm Being Sent Away By My Parents
Media and Public Speaking
CAFETY currently has a developed collective of over 400 residential program alumni nationwide who have volunteered to present at local events and conferences and speak with the press. Please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it should you wish to have a CAFETY volunteer speak at your event or if you are a member of the press seeking to speak with alumni from a specific program or a program within a specific state, we will do our best to connect you.
As part of this project, CAFETY collaborates with youth empowerment organizations nationwide. We invite young people who have participated in community based care to share the their experience and highlight the practices that differ from the residential program experience, with a focus on how youth are empowered to be partners in their own care. Our belief is that the stigma of youth with challenges that is caused by institutionalization and the lack of community care are two of the most significant contributing factors to the ongoing choice by parents to send their children away. It is the very existence of these institutions that perpetuates their existence. Success stories of youth recovering from mental health challenges in their community reduces stigma and dispels the myth that long term (over 90 days) institutionalization is ever appropriate.
ACTION ALERT! NYC/NJ - CAFETY is currently working with a filmmaker in NYC interested in documenting this issue. We are seeking additional alumni in the tri-sate area who wish to be interviewed. Please complete our volunteer form AND This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it should you wish to participate.
Direct Advocacy and Reporting:
Working with families, we file formal complaints to private accrediting bodies, trade organizations and government regulators, track responses and issue periodic, and offer state specific recommendations based on our findings. We believe that the presence of state regulation and accreditation of residential programs alone means little and must be measured against the comprehensiveness and capacity of reporting mechanisms and monitoring to adequately respond to the consumers needs and concerns.
Chapters
We provide legal, technical, research and policy assistance to CAFETY Chapters and other grassroots community groups engaged in a wide range of community development efforts nationwide. Our work is informed by the belief that real and lasting change is rooted in the empowerment of grassroots, community institutions.
CAFETY Chapter leaders will be provided with opportunities for leadership development and advocacy opportunities both in their own community and on a national platform. Advocacy opportunities include: academic conferences, family support conferences, youth councils, forums for the purpose of receiving public comment on proposed regulations, workshops, legislative hearings, and presentations at public venues.
Legislation
In the absence of legal protections at the state and federal level, CAFETY engages in a small amount of direct and grassroots lobbying in support of legislative solutions.
Litigation - IN DEVELOPMENT
CAFETY's volunteer team of attorneys, mental health professionals and advocates are dedicated to enforcing the rights of institutionalized youth. We currently provide technical assistance to attorneys representing individual clients and in class action lawsuits. Please complete our volunteer form AND then This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it directly should you be an attorney or law student who wishes to help!
Our goal is to ultimately provide alumni and survivors with low-cost legal services. We also engage in community education and outreach in the belief that institutionalized youth are entitled to due process to ensure institutionalization is not chosen because a referral has been inappropriately made, a parent is misinformed or an institutions with a conflict of interest deems it necessary. CAFETY is currently seeking grants to fund strategic litigation and low cost legal services.