I just celebrated my five-year anniversary as the National Executive Director of Boys Town. Wow...
In-Home Family Services
In-Home Family Services provides intensive in-home treatment for families that are struggling to stay together or are in crisis. In most cases, a child is in danger of being removed from the home. Services are delivered to families in their own homes by trained Boys Town Family Consultants who help parents build on their strengths and enhance or learn new parenting skills.
Consultants also teach family members how create a safe, nurturing home for children, and how to use support resources to help them solve problems on their own. Treatment focuses on helping the whole family so children can stay in the home and parents can become better caregivers.
The length and intensity of treatment depends on the family’s needs and how likely it is that a child will have to be placed outside the home. Consultants and family members work together to develop individualized family service plans.
Family Preservation Services
Family Preservation Services is a six- to eight-week, intensive in-home program that focuses on keeping families together. A Family Consultant spends up to 20 hours a week in a family’s home and community to help parents provide a safe, healthy home for their children. Family Consultants are on call 24/7, and focus on building family strengths, helping a family to become self-sufficient, and improving parenting. Consultants also link families to helpful community resources.
Family-Centered Services
Family-Centered Services is a longer-term, early-intervention program designed to build family strengths and teach family members new skills so that children can remain in the home. Family Consultants are on call 24/7 and work directly with families in their homes each week for three to six months. Family assistance focuses on children’s behavior and improving parenting and family problem-solving skills, as well as linking families to needed resources.
Aftercare Services
Aftercare Services are designed to maintain and improve the progress youth have made in Boys Town programs after treatment ends. Aftercare staff help children make smooth transitions back to their families or other living environments. Aftercare interventions enable children from a variety of programs to find and maintain success at home, in school and in their community. For older youth who are continuing their education or entering the workforce, the program provides ongoing support and reinforcement that will help them achieve success.