​​​This press release was published on usmint.gov August 23, 2016.

Designs for coins commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Boys Town were unveiled today during a ceremony at Boys Town Music Hall in Boys Town, Neb.

"Each time a person looks at any one of these unique designs, it will spark an interest in learning about the history of Boys Town, acknowledging the extraordinary efforts made by this organization to give comfort and purpose to children in need, and recognizing the significant contributions of Father Flanagan," said United States Mint Principal Deputy Director ​Rhett Jeppson.

Jeppson was joined by Boys Town​ representatives Cordell Cade and Kymani Bell, mayor and vice mayor, respectively; Dan Daly, Executive Vice President, Director of Youth Care; and Jerry Davis, Vice President of Advocacy.

Public Law 114-30 authorizes the Mint to mint and issue no more than 50,000 $5 gold, 350,000 $1 silver, and 300,000 half dollar clad coins with designs emblematic of the centennial of Boys Town. 

The gold coin obverse (heads) features a portrait of Father Flanagan.  Inscriptions include "BOYS TOWN CENTENNIAL," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "FR. EDWARD FLANAGAN," "LIBERTY," and "2017."  The obverse was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Designer Donna Weaver and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

The gold coin reverse (tails) features an outstretched hand holding a young oak tree growing from an acorn.  As ​stated in the idiom "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow," this design represents the potential of each child helped by Boys Town to grow into a productive, complete adult.  Inscriptions include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "THE WORK WILL CONTINUE," "FIVE DOLLARS," and "E PLURIBUS UNUM."  The reverse was also designed by Weaver and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Jim Licaretz.

The silver $1 coin obverse features a young girl sitting alone and gazing upward into the branches of an oak tree looking for help.  The empty space around the girl is deliberate and meant to show the child's sense of loneliness, isolation, and helplessness.  Inscriptions include "BOYS TOWN," "When you help a child today...," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "LIBERTY," and "1917-2017."

The obverse was designed by AIP Designer Emily Damstra and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna. 

The coin's reverse features an oak tree offering shelter and a sense of belonging to the family holding hands below it, which includes the girl from the obverse.  Inscriptions include "...you write the history of tomorrow," "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "ONE DOLLAR," and "E PLURIBUS UNUM."  The reverse was also designed by Damstra and sculpted by Menna.

The clad half dollar obverse features an older brother holding the hand of his younger brother in 1917.  They walk toward Father Flanagan's Boys Home and the 1940s pylon representing what would become Boys Town.  Inscriptions include "BOYS TOWN," "1917," "2017," "IN GOD WE TRUST," "LIBERTY," and "Saving Children."  The obverse was designed by AIP Designer Chris Costello and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Renata Gordon.

The coin's reverse features a present-day Boys Town neighborhood of homes where children are schooled and nurtured by caring families.  Out of these homes come young adults who graduate from high school and the Boys Town program.  Inscriptions include "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," "Healing Families," and "HALF DOLLAR."  The reverse was also designed by Costello and sculpted by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill.

Pricing for the Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coins will include surcharges-$35 for each $5 gold coin, $10 for each $1 silver coin, and $5 for each half dollar clad coin-which are authorized to be paid to Boys Town to carry out its cause of caring for and assisting children and families in underserved communities across America.

The Mint will announce the release date and additional pricing information for the Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coins prior to their release in 2017.

​​​​​This article was posted on tallahassee.com on August 1, 2016.

Boys Town North Florida held its Awards Banquet last Thursday at the Tallahassee Automobile Museum. Those youth being awarded showed up in style thanks to Mikes Limousine Service as they were greeted in turn by Dj Willie Brown.

Every child receives an award - From “Most Improved Academic Performance” to “Most Courageous” there was an individual award for every child in the Family Homes Program.
The top two awards  — “Youth of the Year” and “Ambassador of the Year” — recognize the recipients’ ability to represent Boys Town in a positive manner within the community.

This year's Youth of the Year is Joshua and Ambassador of the Year is Emma.

Both Joshua and Emma came to Boys Town with a lot of reasons to be angry and untrusting.  It took a little while for the Family Home staff to prove that they were committed to helping them.  Once they understood that the Home's goal was to let the light inside of them shine bright, they embraced every ounce of help they were offered with arms wide open.

About Joshua: Joshua had developed such a strong sense of self and has goals for his future.  He is an example to the other youth that your past does not have to define your future.  If there is any way he can help, Joshua will be there and will put his best foot forward every time. He has earned the title “Youth of the Year.”

About Emma: There isn’t a soul that comes in contact with Emma, that doesn’t leave ​feeling just a little lighter.   Her resolve to change her story, her desire to see everyone succeed and her ability to make every person she meets better just for knowing her, has earned her the “Ambassador of the Year” Award for the Family Home Program.

Nearly two years in the making,​ Boys Town North Florida’s ART Town officially opened on January 26, 2016.

ART Town at Boys Town North Florida is a retreat where children and families can concentrate on restoring their spirit and healing their soul. ART stands for Art, Resources and Training by providing a professionally supervised, therapeutic, central location where children and families can experience personal growth in a charming and welcoming environment.

In 2013, Boys Town North Florida purchased a home on two and a half acres adjacent from the Tallahassee, Florida campus. With help from many supporters in the Tallahassee community, the home was transformed into a calm and welcoming retreat center where teaching, training, therapeutic arts-related activities, meetings and counseling sessions can take place in a quiet, private setting.

ART Town brings another element to the already life-changing care that Boys Town North Florida offers to children and families. Prior to ART Town, there wasn’t a space where activities, such as art-related activities, foster parent training and common sense parenting classes, were offered due to lack of space. ART Town can provide individualized or group assistance, resources and encouragement to children and families that are facing a wide variety of challenges or situations. Additionally, ART Town will offer mentoring and tutoring services to youth.

Boys Town North Florida held a grand-opening ceremony for the new center on January 26, 2016. The event offered tours and information on the programs that will use the facility.

Michaela was an angry 13-year-old who didn’t trust anyone.

That’s what becomes of a child who is removed from her home at age 3 and lives in more than 30 different placements during what should be her happiest years of childhood. 

Unfortunately for Michaela, there were no other options. Her terminally ill mother was an addict and there were no other family members who could care for her. Michaela’s tumultuous life in the child welfare system ended only when she was placed in a Family Home at Boys Town North Florida.

But even a stable, family-style environment wasn’t enough to immediately quiet the turmoil in Michaela’s life. The teen was expelled from two schools and suspended from another within three months of her arrival at Boys Town. It took four months of intensive therapy before she began to bond with her Family-Teachers and the other girls who lived in her Family Home.

The turning point came when Michaela realized she was part of a family that really cared for her, something she had never experienced in her young life.

Fast forward two years. Continual teaching and compassionate care had helped Michaela learn how to control her emotions, get along better with others, get back on track in school and, most importantly, trust. 

“Michaela became a very resilient girl,” said Tonia Westerfield, Director of the Family Home Program at Boys Town North Florida. “She started to have a positive attitude, believing ‘This is the life I’ve been given. I’m not going to let it get me down. It’s time to move on.’”

And the best was yet to come. While still at Boys Town, Michaela met Bill and Cynthia Jones at an event that brings together children and families that are interested in adoption. The couple, who had no children of their own, immediately took a liking to the 15-year-old. Soon, Michaela started visiting the Joneses’ home, eventually staying overnight and over weekends. 

Nine months after meeting the Joneses, she moved in with them. But just as when she had moved to Boys Town, the transition was a struggle.

“Michaela was nervous to leave Boys Town because it was the one constant in her life,” said Westerfield. “Being the only child in the household and not having all the activity and people to talk to she had at Boys Town was very difficult for Michaela. She said she would rather live at Boys Town than be adopted.”

Wanting Michaela to have a forever family, Boys Town again offered assistance. An In-Home Family Services Consultant began working with Michaela, Bill and Cynthia. Over eight weeks, the Consultant taught them skills that would help them build a healthy, lasting relationship and create a bond of trust as a family.

Michaela also was reminded that while the Joneses would be her family for life, she would always be part of the Boys Town family.

By the time the Joneses’ adoption of Michaela was finalized, the teen realized she had been taken in by a family that really did love her and she was finally in her own home to stay.

Today, Michaela is a high school senior who is involved in sports and excels in the classroom. Her goal is to follow Cynthia’s career path, eventually styling hair in the salon Cynthia operates. And she still frequently stops by Boys Town North Florida to visit her friends and staff members.

Michaela was destined to find her happy ending; it was just a matter of trust.

The stories provided about the children and families in our care are real. In some cases, names and details may be changed, and stock photos may be used, to protect their privacy and therapeutic interests.
 

This article was posted July 21, 2015 on tallahassee.com.

Aimed at benefiting children in Florida’s child welfare system, the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University has funded 10 research projects statewide that promote evidence-based practice.

“The Florida Institute for Child Welfare is in a unique position to connect Florida’s child welfare community with social work researchers across the state,” said Patricia Babcock, interim director of the institute. “This year the Legislature recognized the importance of evidence-based practice and put legislation in place that mandates that Florida’s child welfare system transition into a system that uses programs and services that are supported by research. These grant awards are a first step for making the transition.”

The institute, which was established by the Legislature in July 2014, funded each project with $60,000 for a total of $600,000. Five of the institute’s projects involve faculty members in Florida State University’s College of Social Work.

• Shamra Boel-Studt, an assistant professor, will lead “A Randomized Evaluation Examining the Effects of an Incentive-Based Child Welfare Invention on Strengthening Child and Family Engagement in Services.” The project will evaluate an incentive program’s effectiveness at increasing child/family engagement in services and strengthening child/family outcomes; examine caseworker and client-level factors that influence engagement; work with agency partners to develop a plan to strengthen and sustain effective engagement practices in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties; and develop recommendations to strengthen and support efforts to increase and sustain family engagement in child welfare services throughout Florida.
• Katrina Boone, director of the college’s field education and an associate teaching professor, in partnership with Kenneth Bender, executive director of Boys Town North Florida, will lead “Common Sense Parenting Program for Children 0-5 in the Child Welfare System.” It will address maltreatment of children from birth to age 5 using an evidence-based program. Through the course of the project, Boys Town North Florida will provide Boys Town “Common Sense Parenting for Toddlers and Preschoolers” modeled after the evidence-based Common Sense Parenting program. Boys Town North Florida intends to mitigate the risk of child abuse and neglect among participating families while further researching the efficacy of Common Sense Parenting for Toddlers and Preschoolers.
• Jeffrey R. Lacasse, an assistant professor, will lead an “Evaluation of the CriticalThinkRX Educational Curriculum for Child Welfare Workers: A Replication Study.” The project will examine the use of evidence-based educational curriculum on psychiatric mediations for non-medical helping professionals. The CriticalThinkRX program is an established curriculum previously tested in South Florida. This new study seeks to replicate previous findings in a different, broader sample and add additional outcomes.
• Karen Randolph, the college’s Agnes Flaherty Stoops Professor in Child Welfare, and Mary Kay Falconer of the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida will lead an “Evaluation of Parent Training Services in a Community-Based System of Care.” The project’s selected priority is the evidence-based services for children from birth to age 5, primarily parent education and training. The project will evaluate two parent-training programs, Circle of Security (COS-P) and Early Childhood Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP), currently offered to families receiving case management services within the system of care managed by Big Bend Community Based-Care (BBCBC).
• Lisa Schelbe, an assistant professor, will lead an “Evidence-Based Parenting Intervention for Youth Aging Out of the Child Welfare Program.” It seeks to demonstrate the need for an intervention for parenting youth who are aging out of the child welfare system and to adapt and pilot test its effectiveness in Leon County. The project partners with the Children’s Home Society of Florida and involves an interdisciplinary team of scholars from across Florida State University, including College of Social Work Associate Professor Melissa Radey.

This article is written by Ken Bender, ​Executive Director of Boys Town North Florida. It was published June 22, 2015 at Tallahassee.com.

Boys Town administrators have reviewed recent articles criticizing group residential care for kids and offer the following response.

We agree that all children should grow up in families that love and support them. We also agree that the vast majority of at-risk children and youth can find stability while remaining with their own family or living with relatives, when their safety can be assured. When the needs of at-risk youth can be met through services like foster care or family-based programs, those youth should receive help in that manner.

At Boys Town, we have a well-recognized foster care program. But we continually see a subset of troubled youth who need a higher level of care. Foster care cannot be the only out-of-home option for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges. When foster care fails, many youth end up in some form of negative placement like a homeless shelter or juvenile justice detention center.

Quality residential care is often the only answer for stabilizing high-needs children, teaching them the skills they need for success, and helping to prepare them for placement in a permanent family. Boys Town advocates for quality residential care for these youth because it is in their best interest and gives them the best opportunity to achieve positive outcomes.

We strongly disagree with critics who contend that eliminating quality residential care is the answer to cutting costs and reforming the child welfare system. “One size fits all” cannot be the approach and it is naive of some critics and policy makers to believe it can.

What is needed in order to properly serve and protect these most vulnerable children is a robust continuum of care that has quality services at all levels. This continuum must be equipped to treat these children in need with the right service, at the right time, in the right place.

Experience from other countries like Australia and England provide grim examples of how kids suffer when public policy goes too far in restricting effective treatment for children. As these countries dismantled their residential care systems, children began to experience more and more failed placements, were placed farther away from their family of origin, and were increasingly involved in the juvenile justice system or were homeless.

We at Boys Town do not want these outcomes repeated in the United States, and we strongly advocate for quality residential care as option for our country’s at-risk children.

AXIOS Salt Spa + Juice ​Bar hosted "A Midtown Getdown Health Fair", which raised over $3,500 for Boys Town North Florida’s ART Town in Tallahassee at the end of last year. ART Town is a new project by Boys Town North Florida where the multi-use building center located in the midst of the campus focuses on art, resources and training for the youth.

AXIOS chose Boys Town because of the special connection one of the co-founders of the company, Chantelle Yandow, has with Boys Town. Chantelle was a resident at the crisis shelter in Sanford, Florida when she was 14-years-old. Her social worker helped place her with a stable family member, and thanks to Boys Town, she was able to grow up with her papa in a safe and loving environment.

Boys Town became her first employer at the age of 15, under a government funded grant, where she learned about the foundation of a strong work ethic and sparked her own passion for community organizing and engagement.

Chantelle's story is just one of Boys Town's success stories and she and AXIOS co-founder, Shea Atkin, are dedicated to supporting their presence and leadership in the community.

Vendors that participated in the event included: Hot Yoga Tallahassee; Heavenly Facials; New Genesis Center; Elizabeth Rawls; Orange Theory; Namaste Yoga; 100% Chiropractic Tallahassee; Whole Health Clinic ; Fit & Functional; Stewart’s Pharmacy & The Wellness Store; Orchard Pond Organics ; NAI TALCOR; and Whole Foods Market ^®.

Read more about Boys Town North Florida’s ART Town in this article and video posted in the Tallahassee Democrat.