Tremendous. In a word, The Omaha Home for Boys enjoyed a tremendous year in 1998. The care and support of our friends and donors, the vision of our Board of Directors, the willingness of our volunteers and the hard work of our dedicated staff made 1998 a very successful year.

The following summarizes the major efforts and accomplishments made by the Home in our 1998 fiscal year.

First and foremost, the Home continued our dedication to strengthening and supporting families and youth. Services to youth, families and community groups all saw improvement and increases in 1998. Residential care for needy boys – the Home’s primary focus – saw a 22% increase in 1998. The Annual Report on Services – included in another section of this report – will outline the many efforts undertaken by the Home to support families and youth.

Also in 1998 the Board of Directors completed a long-range plan for The Omaha Home for Boys after a year-long series of visionary meetings. These meetings established a number of broad based goals for the next three to five years.

A top priority in 1998 was to achieve national accreditation from the Council of Accreditation of Services for Families and Children (COA). COA is an international, independent organization which accredits approximately 1000 behavioral healthcare programs and 3000 social service programs in the United States and Canada. Organizations like the Boys’ Home must comply with service standards ranging from placement to discharge and aftercare.

The accreditation marked the end of nearly 15 months and 2422 man hours of preparation and work. The entire Board of Directors and staff pitched in to help as more than 1000 pages of documentation, policy and procedures were prepared for the review. COA officials who made on-site visits noted that the Boys’ Home was one of the best organized, quality organizations they had ever reviewed.

Another goal in 1998 was to introduce a quality assurance or “outcome” based evaluation of the Home’s services. While the Home maintains data and follows the progress of the youth served here, no formalized service evaluation effort had ever been undertaken. In 1998 the Home created and filled a Quality Assurance & Outcome Specialist position to help design and implement information gathering and evaluation techniques for the Home’s many services.

Another exciting 1998 program goal was the creation of a crisis center. Rather than trying to open our own crisis center on campus, The Omaha Home for Boys partnered with another service organization – Family Service of Omaha – and trained their staff in effective house parenting techniques. Although a smaller partner in this project, the Home is playing a critical role in serving families and youth in crisis.

In addition to program accomplishments, the Home also increased the physical plant of our operations. A new eight bed youth cottage was constructed and completed in 1998. The cottage – named the Combs Cottage after the Home’s founder and long time Chairman Tinley Combs – is the most modern on campus offering a truly home-type living atmosphere along with space for teaching, learning and growing. We believe the Combs Cottage is an excellent example of the future of residential youth care.

Also, after 29 years the Home’s Recreation Center is finally getting a face-lift. The “Rec,” as it is known, is the most used building on campus. The remodel will incorporate a new wood shop in the Rec Center as well as a new racquetball court. The remodel will thoroughly renovate the lower level, providing more room for games and group activities, in addition to adding a modern work-out and aerobics room. The biggest change to the Rec Center will be the addition of a girl’s & women’s locker room and shower area. This modification will provide more access for girls to the Home’s facilities. The project should be complete by May, 1999.

1998 was truly a tremendous year for The Omaha Home for Boys. With the help of our friends and supporters, Directors, volunteers and staff, we hope to make 1999 even more successful.

Sincerely,

John C. Furstenberg
President