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.” Since that time CAFETY has refocused its mission, adopted by the board to a member-driven advocacy organization that promotes, secures, and protects the human rights of youth who are confined in residential programs or who are at risk of being confined in such programs.
CAFETY is headquartered in Brooklyn NY. It has established and organized a national network of volunteers, including the development of California and Texas Chapters. CAFETY has been at the forefront of problem-solving and advocacy, allied with other organizations, government agencies and legislative bodies, held workshops, discussion groups, and spoken on panels at numerous academic, professional and advocacy conferences and in other public forums nationwide. CAFETY's work has been published in the Journal of Orthopsychiarty, a journal of the American Psychological Association, and expertise publicized in Mother Jones and Time Magazine.
We are in a unique leadership position, having testified at numerous hearings, including hearings on the use of aversive practices in NY State, Washington D.C. and before Congress in support of legislation (H.R. 6358 Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008), which would set federal standards and enforcement provisions for all residential programs. CAFETY collected testimony, provided along side data support from ASTART (Alliance for the Safe, Therapeutic and Appropriate Use of Residential Treatment) in support of legislation in Montana State; Senate Bill 288 and the far less stringent H.R. 6358 ( See here under 'CAFETY Note') both related to establishing regulations for residential treatment facilities in that state.
CAFETY has earned respect for professionalism, demonstrated through carefully thought out philosophy illustrated in their policy briefs and through support of members and volunteers. Our leadership and volunteers work along side mental health professionals, attorneys and policy-makers seeking to transform a system that has harmed countless youth. CAFETY is the only organization that unites advocates from residential program settings nationwide in support of ending dehumanizing practices through cultural and systemic change.
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