Heartland Family Service, founded in Omaha in 1875, is a non-profit, non-sectarian social work agency. We help parents who struggle; couples who want to save their relationship; children who are removed from unsafe homes; teens who made the wrong decisions about alcohol, drugs or crime; survivors of family violence; low-income families–mostly women and children–who fall into homelessness; and many, many more who need a helping hand to get back on track. Annually we serve more than 35,000 people in twelve counties.

The mission of Heartland Family Service is to strengthen individuals and families in our community through education, counseling and support.

Learn more:

• A note from our president
• A History of HFS
• Awards We’ve Earned
• HFS’s 2009 Budget

A note from our President

John H. Jeanetta
President and CEO

Friends,

It is an exciting and gratifying experience to take the helm of such a well-respected agency as Heartland Family Service. As I learn about the staff, programs, services and results, I can understand why the agency has such a strong reputation for excellence in eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

As I have immersed myself in my new role here at HFS I have discovered some very impressive facts that I think you might be interested in knowing:

• In 2008, our programs served 36,602 individuals of all ages and all socio-economic groups.
• Services are provided from sixteen locations in the metro area–half in Nebraska, half in Iowa.
• About 80% of our clients have annual incomes under $20,000.
• Thanks to our generous donors–individuals, corporations, foundations and United Way of the Midlands–we are able to provide many services on a sliding fee scale.

I invite you to learn more about the agency by exploring this website. Take some time to see how you can make a difference to those in need.

Please join us in helping people help themselves. It works.

Sincerely,

John Jeanetta, MBA, MSW
President and CEO

With your help, we served 36,602 individuals last year!

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A History of HFS

1875: The agency was founded by volunteers from a group of churches to provide visitation to the sick and poor, relief to the destitute, and to conduct nonsectarian meetings in impoverished areas.

1900: The focus shifted from pure relief efforts to include training in self-sufficiency – teaching job skills to women and adolescents and then employing them in our Industrial Department.

1941: Family Service and the University of Nebraska developed the UNO graduate school of social work. The original master degree internship program continues today. Our collaborative efforts helped organize the local Visiting Nurse Association, Legal Aid, the Visiting Homemaker Program and the Travelers Aide Bureau.

1945: The agency accepted the administration of the Junior League’s Day Care Center and began a half-century of providing child care to working families.

1970: Neighborhood Services initiated the Multi-Service Centers, an exciting new concept in neighborhood service delivery to assist the residents of low-income area.

1975: Family Service of Omaha merged with Family Service of Council Bluffs.

1979: Neighborhood Services started a domestic abuse program in response to a growing threat of family violence.

1981: As prevention proved more effective than intervention, new Family Life Education programs emerged to help the children of divorce, of chemical dependency and of child neglect and abuse.

1987: The growth of local gang violence prompted a study of the scope of the problem, resulting in parenting classes offered through our North Omaha office.

1989: The YouthNet Family Counseling Program was developed to respond to increasing youth violence.

1994: The Safe Haven concealed shelter opened, offering transitional shelter, support and education for victims of domestic abuse. At the request of the juvenile justice system, our Community Based Evaluation program was developed to help judges conduct a more effective assessment of youth offenders.

1996: The Tracker program was added to provide young adult mentors to guide a troubled youth and supervise his or her compliance with a parole or probation agreements.

1997: The Care Connection program contracted to provide child care referral services to more than 11,000 employees of the companies of the Greater Omaha Dependent Care Association (GODCA).

1998: The Steve & Cheryl Wild Children’s Emergency Shelter was opened for Douglas County children birth to age 18 who are victims of parental abuse or neglect.

1999: The Homeless Link Program started in Council Bluffs, to provide case management and housing to homeless or near-homeless people in Pottawattamie County. Residents of Fremont requested that Family Service administer the Jefferson House Children’s Emergency Shelter for Dodge County children birth to age 18 who are victims of parental abuse or neglect.

2000: Family Service celebrated the 125th anniversary of its founding. The Transitions transitional living apartments were opened to offer homes and wrap-around services to homeless people, to help them move to being homeowners.

2001: A new “Family Legacy Society” was created to endow the agency to prepare for the future needs of children and families. Family Service was honored by the Omaha Public Schools with its 2001 “Family Friendly Award” for our Families And Schools Together (FAST) Program, our YouthNet Family Counseling and our 125th anniversary parent education campaign of ‘tips brochures’ for school parents.

2002: The Council Bluffs Office moved into a donated building named the Family Service H. Lee Gendler Center, administering all the agency programs in Southwest Iowa, including a second Youth Substance Abuse program for 13-19 year olds. The Salute to Families program was replicated in Southwest Iowa. The North Office was fully renovated and added mental health and substance abuse services.

2003: Our Therapeutic School opened in Council Bluffs, serving students with emotional or psychological disabilities who cannot remain in a regular school. Our HALO program — Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones — earned the national Robert Rice Innovative Program Award from the Alliance for Children and Families. The Families And Schools Together program and School and Family Enrichment program both expanded services in schools, providing family-strengthening activities and mental health services to elementary and middle school students and their families.

2004: The agency name was formally changed to “Heartland Family Service” to more effectively differentiate our organization from similarly-named human service programs and agencies in the metro area, and to incorporate the broad geographic area we serve. Our agency partnered with Marian High School and the Lozier Foundation so that girls in our Solomon Girls Center summer program could utilize the space and volunteers offered by Marian High School. The Youth Substance Abuse Treatment Program was expanded to a third location at our West Office.

2005: The Harlan Therapeutic School opened in August and increased our capacity to serve K-12 grade children in Southwest Iowa with serious academic, emotional, behavioral and cognitive disorders. The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce named Heartland Family Service as the first-ever Not-For-Profit Organization of the Year at its Omaha 25 Excellence in Business Awards Luncheon on May 17, 2005. This annual luncheon is Omaha’s premier event for honoring business excellence and contributions to the positive growth of our business community.

2006: The Assertive Community Treatment Program (ACT) was established in Council Bluffs to provide comprehensive, community-based treatment to persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses. The Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO) program was expanded to serve child care providers in Southwest Iowa, including those who care for children of bilingual families. The Moms Off Meth (MOMs) Support Group was established in Omaha in addition to the Council Bluffs location. The KidSquad Program was established through a local collaboration among several human service agencies to provide consultation, training and support to child care providers who have preschool-age kids with behavior problems. As part of our Best Practices research, we adopted the Matrix Model of outpatient treatment for our Addictions Programs. Through our Connecting Families to Better Futures Capital Campaign, we successfully raised funds to replace the HVAC system at our Central Office. A collaboration was formed with four other Council Bluffs human service agencies to raise funds and establish a human service campus in Council Bluffs.

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Awards We’ve Earned

2009: Heartland Family Service earned an “Honorable Mention” Integrity Award through the Better Business Bureau for its commitment to ethical practices and procedures.

The Iowa Addictions Team was recognized with a 2009 Science and Service award by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) “as a model of evidence-based practice implementation, steeped in a formalized process of quality improvement.” Only seven programs nationwide were honored with this award.

2008: Heartland Family Service was voted “Best Counseling Clinic” by readers of “The Reader” newspaper’s “Best of the Big O” survey.

2005: The Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce named Heartland Family Service as the first-ever “Not-For-Profit Organization of the Year” through the Omaha 25 Excellence in Business Awards.

2003: The Alliance for Children and Families presented its Robert Rice Innovative Program Award to our Healthy Alternatives for Little Ones (HALO) program, a developmentally appropriate drug and alcohol prevention program for preschoolers.

1998: The Nebraska Association of Family-Based Services honored our agency as “Family-Based Agency of the Year.”

1995: The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben presented the Ike Friedman Community Leadership Award to our agency for making a difference through inspirational leadership and community involvement.

1992: The Nebraska Department of Labor presented an award for exemplary efforts in work and family advocacy; specifically for the Corporate Breakfast on Work and Family, a collaborative effort with First Data Resources and the College of St. Mary.

1991: The Domestic Abuse Program received Honorable Mention from the Family Service H. Barksdale Brown Volunteerism Award. The award is made to member agencies “… whose exemplary initiatives in volunteer involvement and community participation demonstrably increase its effectiveness and stature as a voluntary family service agency.”

1989: The Family Service Communication Department received a Biennial Communications Award from Family Service America for the “Raising Good Kids in Bad Times” public service campaign, conducted through local CBS television station KM3TV.

1979: Family Service was recipient of a special citation of the nationally competitive Margaret E. Rich Award for exemplary activity in family advocacy. The award was presented at the Family Service Association of America (FSAA) Biennial Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

1947: Received awards from the National Association of Organizing Charities (now Family Service America) for two consecutive years for excellence in casework service.

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HFS’s 2009 Budget

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