Boys Town USA

In 1917, a young, immigrant priest from Ireland had grown discouraged in his work with transient, homeless men in Omaha, Nebraska. So in December of that year, Father Edward J. Flanagan borrowed $90 from a friend to pay the rent on a drafty, downtown Victorian boardinghouse that became his first home for boys. Father Flanagan’s Home for Boys welcomed all boys, regardless of their race or religion, and youngsters from all over Omaha and beyond began showing up at the doorstep.

In July 2005, Father Steven E. Boes was appointed as Boys Town’s fifth and current Executive Director. Under Father Boes’ leadership, Boys Town has focused on implementing its unique Integrated Continuum of Care. Boys Town has developed a strategic plan around the Continuum with a goal of doubling the number of children and family they serve by 2012. Father Boes also is expanding Boys Town’s role in advocating change in the current child‑care system, which often offers fragmented and ineffective treatment.

Nonsectarian since its founding, Boys Town is one of the largest, publicly funded nonprofit child‑care agencies in the country, providing compassionate treatment for the behavioral, emotional and physical problems of children and families. Boys Town annually provides direct care to more than 51,000 children. In 2008, Boys Town impacted the lives of more than 404,000 children and adults across the United States, Canada and the U.S. Territories and in several foreign countries.

The Boys Town Model contains the core principles and values of their approach to child care and is the foundation for all services provided through our Integrated Continuum of Care. The Model delivers a consistent structure for the treatment we provide to children and families and, through years of research, has been shown to deliver significant, lasting, positive results.

The Model has four main elements:

• Teaching children and families new, life-changing skills
• Helping children and families build healthy relationships
• Empowering children and families to make good decisions on their own
• Caring for children in a family-style environment

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