IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 656 

Honoring the 100th anniversary of Boys Town. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 12, 2017 

Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. FORTENBERRY, and Mr. SMITH of Nebraska) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the 100th anniversary of Boys Town. 

Whereas Father Edward J. Flanagan was an Irish-American 

Roman Catholic priest assigned to the Diocese of Omaha 

in 1912; 

Whereas Father Flanagan was a social reformer who cared 

deeply for all children, regardless of race or religion, and 

truly believed his statement, ‘‘There are no bad boys. 

There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.’’; 

Whereas Father Flanagan founded a Home for Boys on December 12, 1917, so that all children, no matter their 

background, would have a chance to succeed; 


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•HRES 656 IH 

Whereas, in 1921, Father Flanagan purchased a farm in 

Douglas County, Nebraska, on the outskirts of Omaha, 

which became known as the Village of Boys Town; 

Whereas, by the 1930s, hundreds of boys lived in the Village 

of Boys Town, Nebraska, which grew to include a school, 

dormitories, and administration buildings; 

Whereas Father Flanagan passed away in 1948, but his legacy continued and in the coming decades, Boys Town 

continued to grow; 

Whereas, in the 1970s, as girls began coming to Boys Town, 

the Family Home Program was established and has become the trademark treatment approach of Boys Town; 

Whereas Boys Town children live in homes and are cared for 

by married couples known as Family-Teachers, giving the 

children a stable family life that often they did not have 

prior to arriving at Boys Town; 

Whereas, to date, the Boys Town Family Home Program has 

grown to 96 homes nationwide, serving approximately 

36,000 children; 

Whereas, opening in 1977, the Boys Town National Research 

Hospital is a leader in treating children with hearing and 

speech disorders; 

Whereas Boys Town Hospital helps 60,000 patients who are 

hearing impaired, visually impaired, or have other related 

communications disorders each year; 

Whereas, today, Boys Town has a national footprint in nine 

locations around the United States; 

Whereas Boys Town has locations in Nebraska, Iowa, Nevada, Louisiana, South Florida, Central Florida, North 

Florida, New England, and Washington, DC; 


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Whereas, in 2016, 8,984 children were served across the 

country through the Boys Town In-Home Family Services program; 

Whereas, since the inception of Boys Town in 1917, Boys 

Town has served at least 392,000 children of all backgrounds; and 

Whereas Boys Town was founded and is headquartered in 

Omaha, Nebraska: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors the 100th anniversary of Boys 

3 Town; and 

4 (2) recognizes the work Boys Town does to 

5 keep to Father Edward J. Flanagan’s original belief 

6 that all children have the right to be valued, to have 

7 the basic necessities of life, and to be protected. 

Æ 


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