1998 Calendar Year Annual Report on Services

Residential Care Program
Residential Care refers to those youth actually living at The Omaha Home for Boys. The Home meets all the needs of these youth including food, clothing, shelter, etc. For 1998 there were 116 youth served through the Residential Care Program. This represents an increase of 22%.

Transitional Living
Transitional Living refers to the Home’s residential apartment-like care for young men and women between the ages of 18 and 22 who have no family support system. In 1998 the Transitional Living program served 18 young people.

Parent Training
The Home’s Common Sense Parenting Class provides parents with expert advice and examples for youth communications, youth management and behavior modification. In 1998 Parent Training was provided seven times at three different locations. Two of the classes were intensive, weekend-long courses designed to meet the specific needs of busy working parents. In 1998 there were approximately 90 parents served, which represents an 11% increase over the number of parents served in 1997.

Wellness for Life
Part of the services offered to youth by The Omaha Home for Boys includes Wellness for Life training. The curriculum, taught by a seasoned educator, includes drug education, physical and emotional development, sexuality, healthy relationships, cultural diversity, anger management and aspects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The class meets weekly during the academic year. On average, more than 30 youth participated in each Wellness for Life meeting.

Independent Living
Independent Living takes the Wellness for Life concept to a higher level. Classroom activities include study of interpersonal relationships, dating, acquaintance rape, preparing for further education, money management, major purchases and more. An average of 10 older youth participated in the weekly Independent Living meetings.

Tobacco-Free Teens
A tremendous problem for youth today is the use of tobacco. When a youth is using tobacco, he is immediately enrolled in the Home’s Tobacco-Free Teens program. The program consists of an eight meeting curriculum designed to encourage tobacco cessation techniques. In 1998, 16 youth participated in Tobacco-Free Teens.

Career Prep
Career Prep is designed to teach the skills and work ethic youth need to be more successful in the workplace. Career Prep includes training on application, interviewing, dress and work habits for a variety of differing career paths. The training includes a job shadowing component giving the youth an opportunity to observe in an actual workplace setting. Eighteen (18) youth participated in Career Prep in 1998.

Family Service (Partnership)
In August, 1998, The Omaha Home for Boys partnered with Family Service to assist youth. The Home modified the Family Home Program – the residential program designed for youth followed at the Home – so it could fit into a short-term shelter format. Then the Home trained 50 Family Service staff members to use the program. Since then, the Home has provided continuous counseling, observations and staff evaluations to help Family Service better use the modified Family Home Program. Since August, nearly 250 youth have been served in Family Service operated shelters utilizing the modified Family Home program.

Education Center
In addition to getting boys officially accepted with local schools, the Education Center also provides tutors who support the educational growth of every boy on campus with help on test preparation, homework, computer lab assistance, etc. Throughout 1998 each tutor worked with 10-12 boys a night for a total of 30-40 youth served daily. Also in 1998 marks for boys in math, reading and spelling all improved.

Scholarships
As part of our commitment to needy youth, The Omaha Home for Boys makes educational scholarship monies available to any youth who successfully completes the Home’s Residential Care Program. In 1998 the Home provided scholarship monies to former boys attending various colleges across the United States. During the 1998 fiscal year, $163,282 was provided for scholarships.

Conference & Meeting Facilities
The Omaha Home for Boys’ Youth & Family Service building contains a wonderful conference and meeting facility on the first floor. These facilities are available to anyone with a preference towards other non profit organizations who support families and youth. In 1998, 7355 people and 40 different organizations were served through the Home’s conference and meetings facilities. This represents a 19% increase in people served over 1997.

Cooper Village (Partnership)
Cooper Village – the result of a partnership between Uta Halee Girls Village and The Omaha Home for Boys – is the only psychiatric residential treatment center for boys in Nebraska. Services include standard residential treatment, crisis residential treatment for the youth who needs a place to stay immediately and the treatment group home for youth who are ready to step down to a lower level of care. In 1998, 184 boys were served through the various programs offered by Cooper Village.