Although it's been many years since I was a youth in Boys Town, this place still haunts me. It's deeply affected my ability to trust my intuition and navigate the world. Their model is brainwashing, and didn't help me; it only hurt me. I left there with CPTSD and an eating disorder, worse off than before I went there. I was just a kid who was having a hard time. I wasn't dangerous. I wasn't breaking laws. I was just depressed and needed love. No one deserves to be locked away against their will with their autonomy entirely taken from them. Boys Town promises a "Family Environment" when, in reality, all they give you is adults who treat you like laborers and emotional punching bags. If there's one thing I've learned to be true it's that putting anyone in complete power over helpless, struggling kids in an isolated environment with no consequences for their actions creates unhealthy and unsafe power dynamics that ruin lives. Their "evidence-based research" is all biased (they do the research themselves, so of course they are going to say good things about it). The organizations that give them their Accrediations are also almost entirely made up of board members who either currently work at Boys Town or have in the past--just look at the work history of the Teaching-Family Association's (TFA) Executive Director. Her career started at Boys Town and includes many other unsafe Teen Treatment centers. Any organization that has a net worth of over 1.5 Billion dollars can afford to treat the children they serve without a shred of humanity or compassion and pay for the good reviews and biased accreditations. Spend your money elsewhere; putting it here only pays to hurt more kids.
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- EIN 20-0654235
- info@boystown.org
- (407) 588-2170
- 975 Oklahoma St Oviedo FL 32765-9104 USA
- www.boystown.org/locations/central-florida
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Human Services, Residential Care & Adult Day Programs
Mission: Changing the way america cares for children, families, and communities by providing and promoting an integrated continuum of care that instills boys town values to strengthen body, mind, and spirit.
Programs: Family home services consist of treatment family homes for adolescents. These family homes are a family style, community-based residential program, which can serve six to eight males or females, usually ages 12-17. Married couples called family teachers are the primary treatment agents, along with a full-time assistant family teacher. Family teachers are responsible for structured supervision of youth in daily living and treatment activities. The couple and their assistant work on both treatment and skill building in the home with community and family resources in the childs life. A major focus of this program is teaching older youth functional skills - often referred to as independent-living-skills- that can help them achieve success in school, their families, and work settings. Educational activities occur both in the home and in the community-based preschool or school settings. Staff members work closely with social services and other referral sources to establish permanency for these children.
intervention and assessment services consist of assessment and short-term residential. This program offers assessment and short-term emergency care in a caring and nurturing environment for girls and boys who are typically ages 10 to 17. Many youth who are served through this program are abused, neglected, runaway youth, or have been in trouble due to criminal or delinquent activities adjudicated. Referrals come from a variety of sources, including state agencies, juvenile courts, and private sources. This program provides mediation and counseling to strengthen families and emphasizes family reunification, if it is in the best interest of the youth. During their stay, youth participate in individual treatment planning to help them deal with their problems. Facilities where the program is offered may be described as staff-secure detention centers, emergency shelters, or short-term residential centers.
in-home family services/family centered services are an early intervention program designed to treat and address youth and family problems at home or school. It involves working directly with families through in-home services two to four hours a week for three to six months. The main goals of this program are to build family strengths, teach new skills, and reduce out-of-home placement of children. This program is for families who need supportive services to address high-risk situations and to prevent early issues from becoming a crisis. Family centered services is also utilized to reduce delinquency or to make court involvement less necessary. Trained family consultants offer in-home counseling and skill development to children and families by providing teaching and instruction on specific skills and competencies. Family consultants are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Family assistance includes focusing on the childs behavior and improving parenting and family problem solving skills, as well as linking families to needed family services.