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 exam-
ple, bad thinking.’’; 
Whereas Father Flanagan founded a Home for Boys on De-
cember 12, 1917, so that all children, no matter their 
background, would have a chance to succeed; 
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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 leg-
acy 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 be-
come 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, Ne-
vada, 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 Serv-
ices program; 
Whereas, since the inception of Boys Town in 1917, Boys 
Town has served at least 392,000 children of all back-
grounds; and 
Whereas Boys Town was founded and is headquartered in 
Omaha, Nebraska: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) honors the 100th anniversary of Boys 
Town; and 
(2) recognizes the work Boys Town does to 
keep to Father Edward J. Flanagan’s original belief 
that all children have the right to be valued, to have 
the basic necessities of life, and to be protected. 
Æ 
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