OVERVIEW

Boys Town was founded as a small home for troubled boys by a Father Flanagan in 1917. Since then, it has grown into a nationally known, multimillion-dollar private charitable organization serving thousands of youngsters, boys and girls, from across the nation.

Boys Town’s motto, "He ain’t heavy, father, he’s my brother," expresses the spirit of the organization. Its mission is "to change the way America cares for her at-risk children and families." Its values are old-fashioned love and respect for children and families, along with new-fashioned science.

PROGRAM GOALS

Boys Town homes are established to provide troubled young people a stable, normal family life in preparation for productive adult lives.

PROGRAM METHODS

The original requirement of the Father Flanagan’s Boys Town was that the residents have to "want to be there." There are no bars on the windows or fences around the property to keep the kids in. The residents of Boys Town lead relatively normal lives. They attend class, study vocal and instrumental music, play interscholastic and intramural athletics, and have hobbies. They also perform typical chores. Education key to this program. The Boys Town High School is fully accredited, and they maintain a vocational career center. Moral and religious training is integral to the Boys Town experience as well. All boys and girls attend religious services. Liberal amounts of patience, love, and understanding continue to be the most basic of all the methods applied at Boys Town.

RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

There are more than 100 long-term, residential-care homes for troubled youth, featuring family style living in the least-restrictive environment. Boys Town Residential Services, founded in Omaha, Nebraska, comprise more than one hundred long-term, residential-care homes for troubled youth. The campuses feature family-style living in a minimally restrictive environment. Boys Town Residential Services are found throughout the United States: Brooklyn, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Portsmouth, Rhode Island; Washington, D.C.; Tallahassee, Orlando, and Delray Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; San Antonio, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Orange and Los Angeles counties in Southern California; Grand Island, Nebraska; and Glenwood, Iowa.

EMERGENCY SHELTER AND EMERGENCY SHORT-TERM RESIDENTIAL SERVICES

Many of the sites above also provide short-term emergency care in a family style environment for troubled and runaway youth. These services emphasize family reunification, if it is in the best interest of the child.

FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES

Intensive in-home counseling service for families in crisis.

TREATMENT FOSTER FAMILY SERVICES

Boys Town recruits and carefully trains foster parents to provide a more specialized care than most traditional foster care placements can give.

RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT CENTER

An intensive program for troubled youth, ages 7 to 18, with psychiatric disorders. Located at the Boys Town National Research Hospital and using the Boys Town Psychoeducational Treatment Model.

BOYS TOWN NATIONAL HOTLINE

A toll-free, 24-hour-a-day telephone crisis and referral service is available for children and parents, and it serves the entire U.S. and Canada (1-800-448-3000). About 500,00 call the Hotline annually. They may be girls or boys suffering abuse, depressed, thinking of suicide, on the run, taking drugs, hooked on alcohol, threatened by gangs, or just fighting with parents. Parents of a frustrated or out-of-control child, scared by an abusive or alcoholic spouse, dependent on drugs or alcohol, or seeking shelter for a homeless family also call.

Callers talk to highly trained, professional counselors who listen and give "right now" answers. They are sympathetic people who understand the caller’s pain and anguish. This is the only hotline to earn accreditation of both the American Association of Suicidology and the Council on Accreditation Services for Families and Children.

CALLS

• After Cora, 19, and her 4-year-old daughter had been hit by her drunk husband, Cora fled her home with no money and nowhere to go. She said her daughter, Maria, was terrified of her father and had repeatedly asked to leave the house. A shelter was located and a taxi sent to pick Cora and Maria up.
• Cheri, 16, called from her grandmother’s home to say her father had raped her while her mother and 4-year-old sister were asleep. She said her father had touched her inappropriately for a period of several years and she had attempted suicide in the past. She said she would not hurt herself now because she needed to protect her little sister. The counselor helped Cheri decide how to keep herself safe that night and to report the abuse.
• Holly needed emergency help for her 11-year-old son Kevin. When asked to help with the yard work, Kevin became enraged, hit his mother, and was now threatening to jump from his second-story bedroom window. The counselor helped Holly stay calm and encourage Kevin to move back from the window. The police were called to ensure Kevin’s safety, and an appointment was made with his therapist.

BOYS TOWN PRESS

Resources are offered to youth-serving professionals, educators, and parents. Materials include books, manuals, videotapes, and audio cassettes. You can reach Boys Town Press through its web page (www.ffbh.boystown.org/), or by calling (1-800-545-5771) or writing Boys Town Press, Boys Town, NE 68010.

BOYS TOWN NATIONAL RESOURCE AND TRAINING CENTER

Boys Town provides workshops and specialized training in Administrative Intervention, Aggression, Behavioral Health Services, Boys Town National Hotline, Center for Adolescent and Family Spirituality, Common Sense Parenting, High-Risk Families, Foster Care, Self-Esteem, Social Skills, and more.

Information is provided by Boys Town brochures and Web Site. For more infomration, contact: Father Flanagan’s Boys Home, Boys Town, NE 68010.

Dean Borgman and Mariann Schell cCYS