1994-1995 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Should Government Intervene To Help Children and Teens in Trouble: If so, How? If Not Government, Who or What Entity Should Offer What Type of Assistance?

Teachers: Al Bosn and Robert Vacha

Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

      1st Anthony Barnett 1st Shila Courtreras 2nd Michelle Glisar     3rd Naomi Le Grand

"Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, has said that to prevent the number of homeless and welfare-burdened children we should build more orphanages like Boys Town. In this statement he made two mistakes; the first is that orphanages are not the answer...There would be no motivation when all children see is other children who are in the same predicament as themselves,...his second mistake was that Boys Town is not an orphanage, it is a treatment facility in which youth are taught skills to better themselves throughout their lives. These youth are given the opportunity to pursue their education, with financial and moral help from the Home, and a chance to experience work and difficult real-life situations with ease."
Aubrie Rushlau, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Father Flanagan's Boys Town, which is an institution for children usually between the ages of 9 and 19, is an example of a...beneficial program. Boys Town is an institution that works with each child on an individual basis, but still promotes and provides a family-like environment. The original site which is located in Nebraska, right outside of Omaha, is the largest of facilities like it under the same organization. This site consists of about 75 homes, fairly large houses, in which six to eight male or female juveniles live. There are no coed homes. A married couple is placed in every home and has teaching authority over the youth. Prior to living in the home, the couple goes through training. They are in a position to teach and display things such as social skills, getting along with others, prioritizing wants and needs, making and achieving positive goals, building healthy relationships with teens of the same and opposite gender, and much more. Boys Town promotes emotional, physical, and spiritual involvement. Within the families, social skill curriculum and communications are taught. A lot of troubled teens have a hard time expressing their feelings sometimes they don't express their feelings at all. Placing them in an environment that is safe and comforting can definitely turn this around. The first step to changing is recognizing that there is a problem. And this needs to be communicated through the teens themselves. Teens cannot successfully change by force of authority. They themselves must want to get better. Many teens in need of help have multiple behavioral problems and mental health problems. Substitute care must assure that they do get better. What are teens who are locked in detention homes and other locked facilities being taught that will benefit them? Juveniles with problems involving crime leave a locked facility more criminally sophisticated. They come in [contact] with negative morals and aren't taught beneficial morals. Father Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, used to say the family was the place where we develop all our virtues, individual traits, and ability to become who we really are as independent people. Given the opportunity, children would chose to be good and to learn. Boys Town gives that chance. Boys Town's motto is 'There is no such thing as a bad boy or girl.' This gives light to the fact that the child is only doing what he or she was taught. Boys Town's goal is to teach the child a different and healthier way of dealing with life."
Naomi LeGrand, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Of course warm functional families are the ideal, but as Aubrie points out:
"Home is a simple word to say, but a hard thing to find. For many children and teens, the image of the Brady Bunch will stay just that; an imaginary dream. Home is supposed to be a basis, a foundation on which values, love, and family are built. What happens when the architects of this fragile support system don't show up? What if the 'home' does not exist?"
Aubrie Rushlau, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Children today are faced with many problems, many homes are abusive, unstable and ruining children's attitudes, lives and maybe even their futures. More and more teenagers are dropping out of school, or getting kicked out. Teenagers are getting involved with drugs, gangs, and violence. Many of their actions [are due to] problems at home, or because there is no one who really cares for them, or gives them the attention that they need."
Corinthia Tapia, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Things are corrupt now. We have kids killing kids and kids having kids. A lot of teenagers grow up in a society where they have no morals, no values, no goals, and therefore, no hope. In most cases, these children are in a situation [beyond] their control. Some have inadequate parents, others have unhealthy scenarios to grow up in. A lot of teens grow up accepting violence. ...These kids need help."
Ken Ford, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Today's generation, or Generation X, as it has been commonly called, is not to blame for the current chaos in society. Children do not make ads in magazines or design clothes, make movies, create narcotics, and make alcoholic beverages, and children do not automatically break rules and laws. Children are taught by adults what rules they can break and what tolerances adults have. Children are responsible for their own basic decisions, but parents, grand-parents, educators, adults in general, have to take responsibility for the negligence in the upbringing of today's youth. Generation X did not simply create itself, it was created by the lack of parenting skills that diminished through time. Parents and adults cannot merely send children off to some place in the hopes that 'someone else' will make things better for them. If everyone had the idea of, 'let someone else do it,' nothing would be accomplished. The only thing that Boys Town, and other similar facilities do, is take over the responsibilities that parents are supposed to provide for their children. To begin with, such establishments encourage rules and guide lines to teach responsibility, They teach behavior modification to distinguish the difference between right and wrong. [These establishments] also teach or introduce some belief or at least acknowledgment in spirituality but most importantly they teach children how to problem solve; to work [through] hard times. They teach children how to cope with everyday situations, and by doing this–gaining strength and independence–[the child grows up to] become a positive contributor to society....[This philosophy] emphasizes children's need to stick through things, and to not run away from problems. These are all characteristics that should be, and need to be, taught to children by their families."
Shila Conteras, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Parental responsibility:
"Some U.S. officials contend that it is not right to remove children from their parents because it is the parents' responsibility to raise their children. No one is going to argue that it is not the parents' responsibility to raise a child once it is brought into this world, but just because someone says that it is their responsibility does not mean that they will live up to their responsibilities and teach the child, care for it, and give it the necessities it needs to survive."
Michelle Glisar, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Maybe we should listen to Beth, below:
"'There is no such thing as a bad boy. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, and bad thinking.' Father Flanagan's famous words. Our nation's children are in desperate need of family care. Many children are trapped in a bad environment and need outside help. Government should decrease the amount of welfare that they are giving to individuals who cannot provide the essentials for their children. The children could be placed in a facility like Boys Town if they are not receiving the care that they need."
Beth Sullivan, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Those who have experienced Boys Town are enthusiastic promoters of the program:
"From the personal experience of living at Boys Town for about 3 1/2 years, I know how it can help. The family-like environment, which is something that I wasn't quite accustomed to, opened a lot of new doors for me. It allowed me to become stronger physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It also stressed the importance of strong independence. I've built healthy relationships with both boys and girls, and the girls and the adults that I live with [exemplify] the meaning of family. Even I can be a role model to new and incoming teens, since I've begun learning how to deal with the hurts and disappointments of life, (I am still in the process of learning), I can help out a peer. A lot of teenagers my age can't claim all of the benefits that I can. Some of them have never been given the chance. In locked facilities they have never been given the chance, they have only been punished."
Naomi LeGrand, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"In the United States where illiteracy, poverty, and homelessness rates are soaring, the only hope for a solution lies in the development and implementation of family based group-homes for troubled, underprivileged, and abused youths. ...Boys Town is the greatest example of how the system of group-homes would benefit our society. Since the first home was opened in the early 1910's there have been thousands of boys and girls that have been helped to overcome abuse and emotional issues with Boys Town's help. If Boys Town, a privately funded institution, can help a couple thousand children, then a wide scale system of federally funded homes may help a huge percentage of the one million children [who now rely] on AFDC."
Michelle Glisar, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"'Taking children out of their natural home is a very difficult decision. When guardians do this, individuals feel that it will not be a family anymore. Some guardians do it out of love, because they feel that it is in the best interest for the child. However, others do it because they do not want to take the responsibility of raising the child. Although Boys Town is an out-of-the-home treatment facility, it is very effective in attempting to keep youth in touch with their family. At Boys Town, children live in a home with 6 to 8 other youth and a set of family teachers. Living in these homes gives youth the chance to live with a family. Adolescents receive a second chance to develop a stable, warm, and loving family with the family teachers [who are] all very dedicated [and] have mended the lives of many children. ...Kids can not learn...family values, and skills if they are not in the appropriate environment. When youth come to Boys Town they are helped. ...The children are taught spiritual and moral values. Many children do not know what it means to be responsible for themselves, or to have respect for others. ...If you are not responsible and do not respect others in your family, it will fall apart."
Beth Sullivan, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"The government needs to intervene to help children and or teens in trouble, but not to the point where they completely remove the person from their 'family-setting' unless it is dangerous or impossible for them not to receive help otherwise."
Ken Ford, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"The guidelines for a child's removal from the home, should be very specific and should only be dictated by the local city or county officials. The locals of towns and counties will know more about a child's situation and home life than a bureaucrat in Washington DC. The officials in a town will be able to talk to school officials to see what the child's school life is, or find out if the kid goes to school at all. ...There should be no way for a child to be removed if the family is making sure that the child's emotional, physical and psychological needs are being met. No one is going to say it is a crime to be poor but it is a crime to deny a child things that he or she needs to be a productive member of society."
Michelle Glisar, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"A parent should be taught effective ways of disciplining and communicating. A great example of such education can be found at the village of Boys Town, where the Executive-Director, Fr. Val Peter, provides parent-training classes and handbooks that include skills that are not only practiced at the home site of Boys Town, near Omaha, but all over the nation as well."
Dawn L. Spielmann, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"If we pay more attention...and get children out of unstable families...by putting them in temporary shelters, [we would be] solving part of the big problem, and leaving a smaller problem. While these children are away, we need people to work with the families and [decide] if there is a way of changing the life-styles of these homes, and [providing a] more stable environment for the entire family. ...If there is a way...then bring the children back home. If there is no possible way to provide a safe environment, then the children [should be placed] in long-term shelters."
Cathy Robinson, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Sending the child to a foster care program only works occasionally. In Jimmy's case, foster care didn't work at all. His foster family beat him and shut him out of their regular family. A foster home is not the same as a real family. A foster home is a place for children [who] have no one to rule over them or to provide a bed and support. Foster care also fails sometimes because the adults who have chosen to take care of these children are just as corrupt and abusive as the original parents."
Randy Maddocks, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Most students were wise enough to realize that when it comes to providing an environment where young humans thrive, that there is no single best answer:
"Government run institutions, such as detention homes, can do more harm than good. ...They are places that provoke anger, not positive change. Locked facilities temporarily restrain teens from society and...do not provide love, positive mental health or a stable and healthy environment. These things are necessary [for well adjusted] children."
Naomi LeGrand, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"If we pay more attention...and get children out of unstable families...by putting them in temporary shelters [we would be] solving part of the big problem, and leaving a smaller problem. While these children are away, we need people to work with the families and [decide] if there is a way of changing the life-styles of these homes, and [providing a ] more stable environment for the entire family...If there is a way...then bring the children back home. If there is no possible way to provide a safe environment, then the children [should be placed] in long-term shelters."
Cathy Robinson, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"To every complicated problem there is a simple solution - and it's always wrong,' says Father Val Peter, responding to Newt Gringrich's comment that Hillary Clinton should watch the movie 'Boys Town.' Gingrich has some excellent ideas on what needs to happen with America's troubled teens, however, there are some people that would like to say that he is just 'wishful thinking' about the children of the lost generation. This is a very complicated problem that cannot be solved by people just talking about what needs to happen. There needs to be action taken and this needs to be done by more than just the federal government. 'WE' as a whole helped to make our society the way it is and if 'WE' want to change it then 'WE' need to work together. The answer to this problem may be revealed through a combined effort of the federal government and the communities of America.

One of the first combined-effort programs of the past was foster care. This is no longer an acceptable solution. There are several problems with this plan. Kids are being moved in and out of homes so quickly that they have no idea what family life is like. Foster homes are usually short term and because of this children in these homes will develop a distrust of adults. Children of foster homes often feel lonely and depressed. The child will sometimes become withdrawn and will not build relationships with other peers. This is very unhealthy for a child. Foster parents once believed that if they loved and cared for the children enough the children would change. This is no longer a true belief. Emanuel J. Byington Jr. hung himself in a foster care home. He was gay and could not handle the pressures of his life. Yes, some of the things that were involved in his life probably helped him to make the decision to kill himself. But I have to ask the question, 'Where were his foster parents? Were they not trained to recognize suicidal behavioral indicators.'

Another great solution that could possibly come back would be boarding schools. Webster defines boarding schools as 'a place in which youth attend school while in residence.' Boarding schools used to offer lessons about life, conformity, adherence to rules, responsibility, and education to succeed in future education. 'The overall record of kids raised in group homes and boarding schools is far better than the psychological malignancy inflicted on too many kids in urban ghettos' says Blake Fleetwood, a reporter for the Boston Globe. If the government were to fund a number of experimental boarding schools for children from disadvantaged or impoverished backgrounds there would probably be more applicants than openings. Fleetwood makes a good point when he says 'We spend millions of dollars of medical research; why not spend a few million on some social research to see if a stable, disciplined, and demanding environment can break the cycle of poverty and education deprivation that traps millions of poor children in an underclass hell of joblessness, drugs, and crime?' ...If parents could learn that going to classes to help them provide for their family does not mean that they are necessarily bad parents, but that they just need assistance in getting their lives together, they might not feel so threatened and might actually want to join. This could hopefully pin-point single mothers and teen mothers. The class would teach them problem-solving skills, proper care for their children, and employment skills. If the mother is a teen, then maybe she could set up an individual plan that would allow her to continue going to school and be able to support her child at the same time. This program would take cooperation from the community and the participating mothers. If this plan proves to be successful, then the government might be able to pitch in and offer a little bit of assistance in making the program even better."
Teasha McVey, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Tony Barnett does a good job of laying out the current options:
"The decreasing amount of stability in the American family is the primary cause for the growing number of troubled teenagers. Teens are faced with the problems of abusive parents, violence in their homes, schools, and in the streets, and the presence of drugs, guns, and gang activity all around them. Teens need to have a safe environment and a stable family setting in order to overcome the problems that they are faced with. It is the responsibility of the United States federal government to ensure the establishment of a safe and stable environment for the troubled teenagers of America.

Troubled teenagers can be classified into two different groups: those who are victims of abuse, neglect, or of their environment, and those who make poor decisions and get themselves into trouble by breaking the law. ...Some children are born to crack addicted or HIV positive mothers. Other children are abandoned by mothers who are too young, too irresponsible, or unable to afford the expenses of a child. These children are victims. They have done nothing wrong, yet they have received punishment because of circumstance. No one deserves punishment or to have their opportunity to be successful taken away without having done something wrong. Children who are victims should be provided with a safe environment. ...The children who have gotten themselves into trouble should be sent to detention centers where they can be punished and hopefully reformed. Although these children are being punished, they are removed from the dangers of their old environment and are given a chance to change.

There are three different options to reform America's victimized teenagers: reunification, foster care, and group-home or orphanage type environments.

Reunification is a program which works toward keeping the family together. A social worker is assigned a family and he or she works intensely with that family for thirty to ninety days trying to fix the problems that are making the family dysfunctional or unsafe. If the family has not made progress within the time period, the child is removed and the social worker continues to work with the parent or parents. If progress still hasn't been made, parental rights are taken away and the child is put up for immediate adoption. Although this plan is relatively inexpensive, $2,900 for one family per year, there are several problems. First of all, this plan would not remove the child from the dangers of [his/her] environment. It would not ensure that the child would attend school, would not end up getting shot by an angry peer, or become addicted to drugs or alcohol. In addition to these problems, the plan has not proven to be very successful in the areas it has been tested. Foster care is relatively effective, not too expensive, costing $5,560 for one child per year, and also offers a variety of treatments. It helps children with their behavior, offers a safe environment, and also helps children do better in school. However, although the treatment is good, the program is designed for short term care. Another major problem is that the foster care system is in a crisis. The crisis is that there are a growing number of children in the United States needing help and a decreasing number of foster families willing to help. Foster care is very hard, time-consuming, and exhausting work with poor pay. In 1987 there were 147,000 foster families and only four years later, in 1991 there were only 125,000 foster families. In 1985 there were 225,000 children in foster care, now in 1995 there are 500,000 children in need of foster care. These statistics definitely identify the crisis within the foster care program. The final option is the group home. Group-homes ensure the safety of children, help children in every possible way to get educated, remove children from the presence of drugs, gangs, sex, and violence, and also provides a very stable and dependable family setting. Group-homes are very effective and have so many applicants that they have to turn them down. By far, group-homes provide better care than the other options: however, like the other options, there is a drawback to the group-home. The group-home is very expensive. On average, the group-home costs about $21,420 a year. Some even cost as much as $40-$48,000 a year.

The United States needs to provide money for the establishment of group-homes where youth can be reformed. These group-homes need to be located throughout the country and need to be accessible only by victimized youth, not youth in need of punishment. After reforming today's youths, there will be a better chance that they will raise a generation of teenagers who will be able to find success without the help of the government. [Our] teenagers...are in trouble. Every day teens are exposed to violence and a number of other factors which keep them from being successful. Often times they have nowhere to turn; however, that is not the way it should be. Teenagers, knowing that they are citizens of the United States, should be able to completely rely on their country to help them in their effort to be successful. ...Although the group-home is expensive, the federal government should [fund this option] without hesitation. Our government must decide whether money is more important than the future generations of our country."
Tony Barnett, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

There were a variety of ideas concerning government's role:
"The government's role should be a healing one, not an enforcing one."
Randy Maddocks, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Governments job is to add structure. The government acts as it does in order to provide structure to our country's social and economic aspects. Government does not assist in helping us to be strong individuals. Society believes it to be the job of the family to support, encourage, and moralize children. What becomes of the child belonging to the dysfunctional family? Children are partially the products of their environment and of their parents modeling. Children of dysfunctional families are sometimes unaccustomed to love, companionship, good morals, and/or, a positive mental health. These things are necessary for the healthy development of the child and when not provided can be very damaging. Again, government's job is to add structure. The government does not assist in helping us to be stable individuals. Therefore, intervention in the lives of troubled teens should be shared. Government should only be involved by contributing funds into privately owned organizations that are committed to creating a family life-style for troubled teens instead of a locked facility life-style. Donations could be made by people who believe the work of the organization [is] beneficial. Neither the government nor the people can do the job alone."
Naomi LeGrand, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"[Asking] whether government should help teens in trouble is [actually an offensive question]...It is the responsibility of government to not only educate the youth of the United States of America, but to help them in ways that will benefit the future. So many times the youth of today are told that they are the foundation on which tomorrow stands. If our government is truly concerned with what our nation might become, then it must, indeed help...Parents must learn skills that will allow them to become better role models and defiant children should get help from private treatment centers that encourage family values. Therefore, our government must give funds to parent-training programs and to homes that help troubled youth, preferably Boys Town. The government must continue welfare services, but make guidelines stricter so that an individual will be motivated to work hard and become self-sufficient.

The bottom line is, the government must serve its people in order to obey the supreme law of the land (the United States Constitution) and remain a democracy."
Dawn L. Spielmann, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"We cannot help children without the help and support from the government. Our government needs to decrease the amount of money that they are giving to welfare families that are not using the money in the right way. This money needs to be spent on children that want and need the help."
Beth Sullivan, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Government plays an important role in helping out our troubled teenagers mainly because nobody else can provide assistance for them. We no longer live in a world where everybody lends a helping hand...this is the reason why many people look to the national government to provide assistance."
Ken Ford, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

But Mahrya points out that many people are tired of paying taxes for inefficient programs:
"Taxes are rising, and the number of teens having children is rising also. Many people feel that the easiest way to deal with welfare is to eliminate it all together; [they] do not think of the drawbacks. ...Taking away government welfare assistance...is not helping the situation, but creating more problems....In the 1980's, there were around three million American teens that used government funding to raise their children. The United States government spent around 12 billion dollars that assisted in raising around seven million children. Current statistics show that tax payers now pay more than 25 billion dollars a year in food stamps, Medicaid, and welfare payments for 9 million children whose parents refuse to pay child support, babies being born out-of-wedlock, and teenage pregnancies. By cutting government funds for needy children, there would be no outside support for the child. The child then would not receive the proper nutrition and shelter. If the funds were cut from the government, they would be punishing not only the parent, but the innocent child."
Mahrya Drummer, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"One out of every seven children in the United States receives federal assistance, called AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children). This money is issued to their parents in a hope that the parents will use it to pay for the necessities the child needs to live. The parents in turn are also supposed to be involved in job search, job training, or education processes, if at all possible. The reality is that only eleven percent of the parents on AFDC participate in any of the requirements for AFDC. Many of the recipients of AFDC do not use the money on their child or the well being of the family, but use it to buy drugs. This leaves many children on AFDC without the things that they need to survive. Many of these children are abused, neglected, and often grow up in an environment that provides no beneficial role models. These children then end up as the next generation of welfare recipients."
Michelle Glisar, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Sources of help are suggested:
"A parent should be taught effective ways of disciplining and communicating. A great example of such education can be found at the village of Boys Town, where the Executive Director, Father Val Peter, provides parent-training classes and handbooks that include skills that are not only practiced at the home site of Boys Town, near Omaha, but all over the nation as well."
Dawn L. Spielmann, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Parent-Training classes could be funded by the government. These classes and groups should be made available to everyone, not just the poor, homeless, and neglected people, because even the 'best' families have problems."
Randy Maddocks, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Students recognized that there are many kinds of families:
"Many of our elected officials state that there is no replacement for a 'real' family. None of those that have made this statement can exactly pinpoint what a 'real' family is. Many children in today's society grow up in a family that could be a number of different people."
Michelle Glisar, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

So what is to be done?
"Positive role-modeling and the ability to be good parents is needed and should be taken seriously. Robert J. Samuelson, a writer for Newsweek stated, 'Folks, no one will raise our children for us. We all contend with the demands on our time, the squeeze between home and jobs, the clamor of our children, their emotional needs and ours. This is the most important work of our lives.' Americans should not only be taught how to be good parents, but how to be culturally aware and involved as well. Every culture is based on the 'family unit'--or the love, dependence and concern for others as a family...Culture such as those of the Native, African, and Mexican American educate children with values, morals, and respect that result in beliefs in some sort of higher power and a sense of belonging. The children of today are...lacking the values and beliefs needed to survive in this society."
Dawn L. Spielmann, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Ken says it well:
"What really matters for families can't be bought with government subsidies or tax breaks...Kids aren't disposable and what their parents provide for them is something too intimate and intricate for government to influence meaningfully."
Ken Ford, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Cathy elaborates:
"I believe an important ingredient ... is love. In some cases you do not need a family. But as long as we get people out there to help and love these children who have no parents, then these children will grow up to be better people than if they were to have no one to love them. Most would believe that children from broken and poor families would tend to be slow or have learning disabilities. Well, in some cases this is true, but it has been proven by many poor families that if you put love into the family and are sincere about it, then those children will come out just as well as any other child; maybe even better."
Cathy Robinson, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

Students came up with a variety of proposals. Proposals to help kids already caught in a struggle:
"[Some] teenagers find themselves getting deeper and deeper into trouble, whether it is with gangs, drugs, or even pregnancy. Probation officers or social workers could keep [these] kids off the streets by setting rules that their parents often have trouble setting. They can schedule GED classes for those who show no [interest in] school but need jobs to support themselves. Many children who drop out of school need someone to help them replan their future. If children fail to accept the authority that their probation officers or social workers exercise, then house arrests, lock ups, and placements could be discussed. Teenage mothers can be aided to get back on their feet by attending programs, activities and maybe even continue their education by getting their GED or possibly even their high school diploma, because it is never too late to go back to school."
Corinthia Tapia, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

"Through a combined effort the government could set up more programs and activities for younger children and preteens to help educate them in independent living....The groups would be set up so the children can get involved in learning, but at the same time have fun doing so. The program would be set up to teach the youth of today how to make a better and safer society for the children of tomorrow."
Mahrya Drummer, Boys Town High School, Boys Town, Nebraska

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