| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
In the News: 'It's not a kid issue': Why an elementary school is using home visits, virtual reality to combat chronic absenteeism
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
In the News: 'It's not a kid issue': Why an elementary school is using home visits, virtual reality to combat chronic absenteeism
| <p>Boys Town Nevada has partnered with Manch Elementary School to help combat chronic absenteeism. Boys Town brought its "LIFT Together with Boys Town<sup>SM</sup>" program to the northeast valley school, where teachers and administrators were trained on classroom management techniques that praise students' positive behavior as a means to curb negative behavior. Better behavior, as the logic goes, keeps students engaged and in class.</p><p>Total behavior incidents — whether threats, fighting, bullying, classroom disruptions or something else — dropped by 54 percent, according to data collected by Manch and Boys Town officials. Suspensions also decreased 56 percent, while student attendance increased by 700 days.</p><p>The Boys Town partnership also involves in-home family services, parenting classes and care coordination to give families needed resources.</p><p>Read the full story from <span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/its-not-a-kid-issue-why-an-elementary-school-is-using-home-visits-virtual-reality-to-combat-chronic-absenteeism">The Nevada Independent</a>.</span></p> | 2019-10-07T05:00:00Z | News | | Nevada;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
In the News: Boys Town Youth Shaquil Barrett’s Unique Path to the NFL
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
In the News: Boys Town Youth Shaquil Barrett’s Unique Path to the NFL
| <p>Shaquil Barrett left Baltimore at 15 to join his older brother at Boys Town. In his time at Boys Town he learned that everything was earned, including playing football. After graduating in 2010 and playing football for University of Nebraska-Omaha and Colorado State, Barrett fought his way to get on the Broncos active roster in 2015. Now, In his first Tampa Bay Bucaneers season as outside linebacker, he is off to the NFL's best sack start since 1984. Read the full story on Shaquil Barrett from <a href="https://boystownprtemplate.cmail19.com/t/y-l-uyhujid-tktiidhlkh-d/"><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Tampa Bay Times</span></a>.</p> | 2019-10-07T05:00:00Z | News | <img alt="Shaquil Barrett" height="266" src="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/Barrett1_resized.jpg" width="400" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
BU introduces master’s degree in child, youth and family studies
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
BU introduces master’s degree in child, youth and family studies
| <p><em></em><a href="https://www.omaha.com/sarpy/bellevue/bu-introduces-master-s-degree-in-child-youth-and-family/article_84fe639b-0c99-5a15-b15a-1fe6000ae744.html" target="_blank"><em>This article was posted on Omaha.com on Sep 10, 2019</em></a></p><p>A new master's program will introduce students to learning about child protection and juvenile justice completely through the screens of their computers.</p><p>Bellevue University will offer a Master in Science degree in child, youth and family studies beginning in October. It will have nine eight-week classes completely online.</p><p>David Hoppe, program director for behavioral science, child protection/juvenile justice and addiction continuing education, created the program because he saw a growing need in students ready to move onto graduate school.</p><p>"I looked around and there wasn't one online child protection or juvenile justice program I could find in the nation," he said.</p><p>"[I would be] writing recommendations for people to go other places like UN-L (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), which has a master's in child protection, but I was thinking, 'I think we can do this in Bellevue.'"</p><p>Hoppe said the question of will there be enough students interested in the program came up frequently when going through the approval and planning process. Though he expected around 10 students in the first semester, Hoppe already has more than 30 interested.</p><p>"There is a need specifically for people wanting to work in child protection and juvenile justice," he said.</p><p>The program is offered to anyone with a bachelor's degree, as Hoppe said he didn't limit it to one specific undergraduate major.</p><p>One aspect Hoppe made sure to exclude is requiring students to have an internship.</p><p>"My working adults, single mothers can't take off, quit their job and do an internship," he said.</p><p>Rather than a required internship, Hoppe will have students complete a project over the course of nine months with an agency.</p><p>"It's self-paced, it's finding an agency and identifying a problem in that agency and working with that agency to help solve that problem," he said.</p><p>Kristin Murray, a graduate student in the program, decided to get her master's because it focused on many of the human services jobs she already does.</p><p>"I've never taken fully online programs before, so it'll be new to me, but at the same time, it is really convenient and I'll be able to do things on my time," she said.</p><p>"I'm looking forward to getting more into the policy and procedure part of it. I'm big into finding out what things work and don't — I like to be part of putting programs together."</p><p>Murray, who works at Boys Town Duncan Day School in Duncan, Neb., said she plans on moving back to Omaha and working with Boys Town after receiving her degree.</p><p>The papers students write will be concise and in the style human services typically write in, and there will be no tests, Hoppe said.</p><p>"It's not a memorization program — this program is application," he said. "There will be lots of case studies — if you were in this situation and you were dealing with this family, what theories could you apply to this family?</p><p>"They will have read about the theories, watch videos about the theories and will apply that information to a case study."</p><p>In the field, Hoppe said there are many different careers people can take, and different agencies they can work for, such as Boys Town.</p><p>"It's not limited in any way," he said. "[They would go to] agencies that serve children, youth and adolescents."</p><p>Hoppe said it was important to add both the child protection and juvenile justice areas, because he wanted to give people more options in case they experience burnout in their careers after graduation.</p><p>Hoppe said he looks forward to the program's start.</p><p>"I'm hopeful we can have two or three successful starts this year and then we can use those folks as testimonials to show it is a viable program," he said. "It's giving students what they expected."</p> | 2019-10-04T05:00:00Z | News | | Central Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Behavioral Health Clinic’s Testing and Assessment Services Help Create a Continuity of Care for Children, Adolescents
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Behavioral Health Clinic’s Testing and Assessment Services Help Create a Continuity of Care for Children, Adolescents
| <p>His stomach ached. His head throbbed. Tears streamed down his cheeks. </p><p>Little Aiden cried to his mom. He felt icky and wanted to stay home from school – again. Aiden missed lots of days at his elementary school and always for the same reason. So, what was going on? </p><p>Aiden's pediatrician found no physical problems that would cause frequent abdominal pains or any of his other complaints. But the pain Aiden felt was real, and he was an anxious child, especially about school. That's why the pediatrician recommended that Aiden have a psychoeducational evaluation at the Boys Town Central Florida Behavioral Health Clinic. </p><p>For the past year, the clinic has provided psychological and psychoeducational testing and assessment services for children and adolescents. These comprehensive evaluations involve a combination of tests and measurement tools related to intelligence, cognitive abilities, memory and behavior. They are administered to school-aged youth, from kindergarteners to college students, to gain greater insight into their educational abilities as well as their emotional and behavioral strengths and weaknesses. </p><p>When a child like Aiden struggles in school, academic testing and assessment can help pinpoint whether the underlying issue is related to a reading problem, such as dyslexia, or an attention problem, such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Likewise, if a child struggles with friendships or family relationships, the assessment can determine whether the child is experiencing emotional disorders, such as anxiety or depression. </p><p>"Evaluation and assessment allow us to get a deeper understanding of a child's underlying academic, social and emotional functioning," explained Dr. Jason Gallant, clinic director. "This information is used to customize treatment to meet the unique needs of the child."</p><p>In Aiden's case, the assessment revealed a bright child who had a significant reading problem. Aiden was trying so hard to compensate for his poor reading skills that he made himself sick. His family was able to use the results of the evaluation to advocate for the appropriate services at Aiden's school, which significantly reduced his anxiety and the stress, strain and embarrassment it caused. </p><p>Casting a wide net and looking at the whole child is key to pinpointing exactly where a child is struggling, said Dr. Katrina Stone, the clinic's assessment psychologist. So a typical assessment involves parent and teacher interviews, reviews of relevant records and one-on-one interactions with and observations of the child. </p><p>"When I do an evaluation, I gain an understanding of the biggest challenges a child and family face. This leads to tangible next steps and interventions that can put everyone on a more successful path going forward," said Dr. Stone. </p><p>With the addition of assessment and evaluation services, the clinic is now a one-stop shop. This is especially helpful when assessments reveal the need for therapeutic interventions. Having assessment services and therapists under one roof guarantees greater coordination, collaboration and continuity of care, delivering more efficiency and better outcomes to children and families. </p><p>The clinic is currently working toward expanding its evaluation services to include comprehensive autism assessment for youth who have or may be at risk for autism spectrum disorders. </p>
<p>The Boys Town Central Florida Behavioral Health Clinic has been serving children in the greater Orlando area since opening in 2012. To learn more about the clinic's testing and evaluation services, and other services, call 407.853.7704.</p> | 2019-09-30T05:00:00Z | News | | Central Florida;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Center to Open at Boys Town National Research Hospital
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Center to Open at Boys Town National Research Hospital
| <p>Boys Town National Research Hospital provides a new pediatric mental health service to the community. The Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 12 at 10:00 a.m. The new facility is connected to Boys Town National Research Hospital-West. </p><p>"There is a real community need for inpatient psychiatric care for children," said Edward Kolb, M.D., MBA, Executive Vice President of Health Care at Boys Town and Director and Chief Medical Officer at Boys Town National Research Hospital. "With the opening of our new Psychiatric Inpatient Center, we help serve this need and become a community resource for families and for the physicians and providers who care for these families, by providing immediate intervention for children with severe behavioral and mental health crises."</p><p>The new 16-bed Psychiatric Inpatient Center will provide the highest level of care and safety for children, ages 5-18, who need psychiatric hospitalization. The Psychiatric Inpatient Center includes classrooms, a gymnasium, living spaces and an exercise room. Patients receive treatment and care from a multidisciplinary team of board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists, pediatricians and pediatric specialists, highly trained psychiatric nurses, and social workers.</p><p>Upon leaving the Center, patients may be referred to one of Boys Town's lower levels of care, such as residential treatment, outpatient care, telehealth or in-home services to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of the child and family.</p><p>For some employees, today's ribbon-cutting was not only a special acknowledgement of the new facility, but also hit close to home. </p><p>"I want you to know that this is not just professional, but personal for me. I've had a couple of nephews come to Boys Town and before they came to campus they started out at a higher level of care like this," said Father Steven Boes, National Executive Director, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "They needed the help of an adolescent psych unit and the residential treatment center before stepping down to another level of care." </p><p>Nick Basalay, M.D., who will be serving as a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the new facility, also shared his story and close connection to the facility. Dr. Basalay started at Boys Town 10 years ago as a Behavioral Health Technician in the Residential Treatment Center after graduating with a degree in Psychology. His job as a Behavioral Health Technician and his experience with one particular youth who turned his life around thanks to Boys Town is what inspired him to go to medical school to become a psychiatrist.</p><p> "I knew; not only psychiatry is what I wanted to do, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be practicing than here at Boys Town," said Dr. Basalay. </p><p>
<strong>Watch the video below for full coverage of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.</strong></p><div class="hidden-gal">
<a title="Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Center Room" class="image-group cboxElement" href="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/RibbonCutting9-12_01.jpg">image 1</a> </div> | 2019-09-27T05:00:00Z | News | <img alt="Ribbon Cutting" height="333" src="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/RibbonCutting9-12_10.jpg" width="500" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
PAS Program Keeps Students Connected to School during Suspensions
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
PAS Program Keeps Students Connected to School during Suspensions
| <p>These days, students who receive suspensions at Omaha South High Magnet School are getting a PAS.</p><p>In this case, PAS stands for Positive Alternatives to Suspension. It's a Boys Town Education Training program the school has adopted, and it's helping to turn school suspensions from "time away" from the classroom into "time engaged" in keeping up with academics and improving behaviors.</p><p>With PAS, students who have been suspended serve their consequence while they continue to receive academic instruction from school staff. Students also learn social skills that can help them improve their behaviors and prevent future suspensions. This way, suspensions become positive learning opportunities, rather than just disciplinary actions.</p><p>For one student, the PAS program was a godsend after a family hardship made her think school wasn't important anymore. </p><p>"At the beginning of my freshman year, I found out my mom had cancer," Maria said. "And I thought about school different. I didn't really care about it. I was just the type of person that thought, 'Everything is going wrong in my life so far, so it doesn't matter anymore.'"</p><p>Working with Omaha South and Boys Town staff during a suspension gradually changed Maria's outlook and perspective.</p><p>"…I slowly started venting more and explaining my pain to them, and they would help me get through it," she said. "So every time I come over here, motivation just kicks in, and it's a push harder to get through life and get through all the struggles I'm going through. </p><p>"Boys Town has helped my self-esteem a lot. And it helped me view myself way different. Before, I really didn't see myself going to college or being something big. And now I see myself going to college… and I see a lot of worth in life."</p><p>Besides improving academics and attendance, staff members who implement the PAS program become sources of support, encouragement and motivation for students who might otherwise continue to fail or drop out.</p><p>"We're here for support and to develop that relationship with them, to help them improve their behaviors in the classroom and with teachers," said Shannan Garcia, a Boys Town School Community Liaison. "And sometimes you just get a better understanding of where they're coming from."</p><p>"A lot our young adolescents are riddled with anxiety and depression, and I think home life is very stressful on these students," said Lori Negrete-Bobier, a Transition Room teacher at Omaha South. "I work with them to maintain their academics while they're out on suspension. But I also use the Boys Town Model® and the Boys Town skills to help them be more successful with their behaviors."</p><p>This is a true collaboration between Omaha South and Boys Town. It is a partnership between an Omaha South teacher and a School Liaison from Boys Town who convene at the Boys Town office in South Omaha to help students work on their academics as well as their social skills. </p><p>Student by student, the PAS program and other Boys Town resources are helping struggling students find their way back to academic and behavioral success. </p><p>"At South High School, Boys Town is changing how we deliver education," said Principal Ruben Cano. "It is helping us see that working with students and working with families goes beyond what you learn in the classroom."</p><p>To learn more about the PAS program, visit: <a href="https://vimeo.com/332700850/370048bc25">https://vimeo.com/332700850/370048bc25</a>.</p> | 2019-09-25T05:00:00Z | News | | Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
LIFT Together with Boys Town: Transforming South Omaha through Partnerships and Preventative Services
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
LIFT Together with Boys Town: Transforming South Omaha through Partnerships and Preventative Services
| <p>When a dad approached Omaha South High Magnet School Principal Ruben Cano during parent-teacher conferences last year and asked for help because his son was failing all his classes, Cano knew what to do.</p><p>He immediately walked the parent over to a table where two Boys Town staff members were sitting.</p><p>The Boys Town staffers helped the parent sign up for in-home services, and soon the man's son was getting the help he needed to get back on track in the classroom.</p><p>It was a personal example of how LIFT Together with Boys Town<sup>SM </sup>and the partnerships it has built with Omaha South and other organizations in South Omaha is generating community-wide collaboration and making more resources available to struggling students and their families.</p><p>Taking a largely preventative approach, LIFT Together brings parents, educators, coaches, behavioral health professionals and community members together to work in concert to achieve a broader "population" change in their communities. It works closely with its partner organizations so everyone speaks the same language and has the same goals – to promote positive engagement at schools, strengthen families and change communities.</p><p>Data collected recently on Omaha South ninth-graders indicate this collaborative approach is producing significant improvements in student behavior.</p><p>The data show that from the 2017-2018 school year to the 2018-2019 school year:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Disciplinary referrals decreased by 32% (from 1,954 to 1,334) </li><li>Total suspensions/expulsions were down by 41% (from 294 to 174) </li><li><strong>Moderate absences (when students miss from 10% to less than 20% of school days) decreased by 24% (from 151 to 120)</strong></li></ul><p>Establishing and developing effective partnerships in the community has been the key to this progress and to increasing engagement with South Omaha families. These partnerships make it possible for service providers to identify the problems individual students are facing, select resources that can best help them and then connect those students (and their families) with that assistance. </p><p>Although the partnership with Omaha South is established and strong, LIFT Together with Boys Town's focus for the current academic year is to establish stronger partnerships with other service providers and community organizations.</p><p>LIFT Together with Boys Town provides access to a number of Boys Town youth and family services, including:</p><ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>In-Home Family Services (home-based services)</li><li>Care Coordination Services (home-based services)</li><li>Parent Education (Common Sense Parenting<sup>®</sup> classes and topic-driven workshops)</li><li>Administrative Intervention<sup>®</sup> (training for school administrators)</li><li>Safe & Healthy Secondary Schools (teacher training to improve classroom behavior) </li><li>Positive Alternatives to Suspension (PAS) (program for students who are suspended or at risk of suspension)</li></ul><p>One common theme of all Boys Town's programs is the daily use of praise to recognize and increase the positive behaviors of students.</p><p>In the halls Omaha South, teachers wear bright red bracelets. One side reads "#Praise" and the other "4-to-1." The bracelets remind teachers to "raise the praise," to "catch their students being good" and to recognize their hard work and accomplishments, no matter how small.</p><p>The bracelets are a direct result of the training Omaha South teachers received from Boys Town and their everyday work with Boys Town National Education Training staff. The teachers have learned about the benefits of praise and other research-based behavior-management strategies. They've come to know and trust their partners from Boys Town. And they have taken it upon themselves to create a more supportive, motivational environment for every student.</p><p><a href="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/Documents/SouthOmahaSchoolLIFTTogetherInfographics.pdf">See the dramatic improvements we have seen after one year </a></p> | 2019-09-25T05:00:00Z | News | | Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Preserving Parts of the Boys Town Dairy Farm
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
Preserving Parts of the Boys Town Dairy Farm
| <p>This article is written By Roger Hamer. It was posted on <a href="https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Preserving-parts-of-the-Boys-Town-dairy-farm-558480031.html" target="_blank">wowt.com</a> August 27, 2019.</p><p>Preserving a part of Omaha history, while paying homage to the importance of Boys Town in our community.</p><p>Developers are deciding to include some very visible parts of Boys Town's past for a future neighborhood.</p><p>The landscape at the old dairy farm is rapidly changing but some things remain the same.</p><p>The top of the dairy barn and wood from the barn is in storage to be reused.</p><p>Then, there's the silo. A 55 foot tall visible reminder of the area's past.</p><p>Now, developers plan to relocate it about half a mile to the west.</p><p>Bart Emanuel is Director of Development and Construction at Applied Underwriters.</p><p>“We feel it is a significant part of the boys town development,” he said. “We want to hold on to that history a little bit to what this 250 acres was at one time.”</p><p>Rick Meysenburg of Nebraska Harvestore Systems is tasked with moving the silo.</p><p>“We will lower it with jacks take it apart one ring at a time and relocating it and rebuilding it the same way,” he said. “We want to make sure that the steel is in a suitable manner to be able to be rebuilt and stand for another 60 years.”</p><p>That new location is at West Farm development's entry point at 150th and West Dodge Road.</p><p>Emanuel said it is important to remember the young people who lived here.</p><p>“These kids were raised here and they learned a trade, they learned discipline and getting up and doing chores every morning,” he said. “We're not going to lose that identity.”</p><p>Taking down to silo should begin Wednesday morning, weather permitting, around 7 o'clock.</p><p>The dozen layers of the silo will be stored as the foundation at the new location is built.</p><p>We're told the silo should be reassembled in about three months.</p> | 2019-09-09T05:00:00Z | News | <img alt="" src="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/Silo.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
8th Annual Blue Water Bash
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
8th Annual Blue Water Bash
|
<span aria-hidden="true">
<p>
The 8th annual Blue Water Bash took place on July 20, 2019 at the Boys Town Okoboji Camp and this year they made a splash by raising more than $175,000. </p>
<p>The event hosted more than 300 guests with The Dixon Family Foundation as 175k the event Anchor Sponsor.</p>
<p>Those in attendance enjoyed live and silent auctions, a game of heads or tails sponsored by Sazerac Distributors, the Boys Town graduation video and a speech from our chair, Joe Johns, whose dad was a 1963 Boys Town graduate. </p>
<p>In his speech, Joe reflected on how the skills and examples his dad learned at Boys Town served as an instrumental roadmap for his life. </p>
<p>"As the oldest of three boys growing up in the South Omaha projects in a broken home, my dad was robbed of his childhood," said Joe. "Boys Town offered my dad a safe haven, a solid foundation and stable environment, where he could foster relationships, focus on his schoolwork, and achieve success. Boys Town molded my dad into a young man with a pathway to and vision of success. Boys Town exposed my Dad to what is possible, and he went out and provided endless opportunities for me."</p>
<p>This year's event also honored Knobby Meysenburg posthumously with the Wavemaker Award. The award recognized all of Knobby's contributions to the Boys Town community. Knobby was an employee for more than 40 years and ran the Okoboji camp from 1976 – 1992. He was a selfless individual who was always giving back. From teaching kids how to ski, to helping maintain the physical structure of the camp, Meysenburg was an instrumental part of the camp for many years. His wife, Betty Meysenburg, accepted the award on his behalf. </p>
<p>The bash ended of the night with drinks, dancing and music by The Fishheads was kicked off with a rendition of "He Aint Heavy" by the Hollies. </p>
<p>Boys Town extends a thank you to all the gracious donors and sponsors who contributed to this year's event which affords our youth and families the opportunity to experience a safe and memorable family vacation while helping to revitalize the existing camp facilities so they're safe and preserved to meet future needs.<br></p><p><img src="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/Pages/Annual-Blue-Water-Bash-July-20/BWB4.jpg" alt="BWB4.jpg" style="margin:5px;" /><br></p></span> | 2019-09-04T05:00:00Z | News | <img alt="Blue Water Bash" src="/locations/nebraska/news-and-events/PublishingImages/BWB2.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | Iowa;#Nebraska;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
LIFT Together with Boys Town Community Partnership Merits Visit from Office of Children’s Bureau Commissioner
| Boys Town: Saving Children, Healing Families, Parenting Tips |
LIFT Together with Boys Town Community Partnership Merits Visit from Office of Children’s Bureau Commissioner
| <p>Representatives from the office of Commissioner Jerry Milner, D.S.W., met with Boys Town Nevada staff July 18 and toured one of the Las Vegas schools that partner with our site in our LIFT Together with Boys Town<sup>SM</sup> program. Milner is the Associate Commissioner for the Children's Bureau, the Acting Commissioner for Family and Youth Services and the Acting Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families. </p><p>LIFT Together with Boys Town is a community-based partnership that addresses the complex underlying familial issues that prevent children from succeeding, and provides preventative services in order to generate community-wide impact. The partnership works closely with teachers and administrators in Las Vegas-area schools to identify those children in need of help as soon as possible, because school is where the first warning signs of family strife most often appear. The schools alert our team when red flags pop up and we make immediate contact to provide assistance. If a family accepts help, Boys Town Nevada Consultants begin meeting regularly with family members. </p><p>Lift Together with Boys Town is a different type of intervention in that it doesn't just treat symptoms like truancy, acting out in school, bad grades, etc. Instead, it uses those symptoms to identify the bigger problem, and then tackles that problem at its heart. Partners work tirelessly to build trust and rapport with families, and are available to help resolve crises. They help families form long-term plans and tackle overarching issues such as job instability, relationship problems, mental health issues, addiction and legal issues.</p><p>The visit by representatives of Milner's office was the first to the State of Nevada, and was prompted by news being shared with Milner regarding the early successes of the LIFT Together with Boys Town community partnership and the positive impact it can have on schools in the Las Vegas community in the coming years. </p><p>While in Nevada, the representatives toured JE Manche Elementary school, where LIFT Together with Boys Town is playing a key role in student success. They met with school officials who are helping to implement the community partnership, and heard from families who have received services through it. </p> | 2019-08-30T05:00:00Z | News | | Nevada;# | text/html; charset=utf-8
NewsEvent | | | |
