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FOUR OAKS HISTORY
As the years passed, the service and commitment to helping troubled children began to grow into something more. Over the next 30 years, Four Oaks grew and branched out to serve a diverse population with various needs. The focus of the agency began to change when Jim Ernst joined Boys Acres as the new Executive Director in 1979. Jim brought his vision and strong leadership to the organization and the agency continued to grow. At the same time, treatment systems changed. The group home program was redesigned to become a residential treatment program for pre-adolescents and was the first of its kind in Eastern Iowa. Other services followed that assisted Boys Acres residents to transition back to home or into foster homes.
With the expansion and changes in the agency, it was decided to change the agency’s name. In 1984, the agency changed its name to Four Oaks and used the oak tree to represent the family, the community and the agency standing together with the child to build a future strong as the mighty oak. Involving the family in the treatment of the child is the hallmark of the Four Oaks philosophy. According to Jim Ernst, now President and CEO of Four Oaks, “Supporting the development of a healthy home environment helps the child more successfully deal with the challenges he or she faces. Giving family members the knowledge and support they need to assist in the child’s treatment allows the family unit to become stronger.”
Four Oaks supports children and families through various programs, including residential treatment, which offers children a chance to learn better ways of handling their problems so they can live in a family setting. Beginning in the early 1980’s, the agency continued to improve its quality of service to children and families by expanding the types of programs and treatment options available. Expanded treatment options included the supervised community treatment programs, which offer structured daytime environments for troubled children while they continue to live at home. The programs at Four Oaks go far beyond specific treatment regimes and focus on supporting the development of the family unit or creation of new family environments. Many of these programs are accomplished through partnerships with other local service agencies and schools. Family support, preservation and education programs allow families to deal with the issues that prevent them from functioning successfully. Foster care and adoption programs help create new, nurturing family units for children who cannot return to their biological families. For runaway and homeless children between the ages of 11 and 17, the agency operates two shelter programs in Iowa City and Independence. In addition, Four Oaks works in conjunction with local school districts to educate children who cannot function in the regular school environment via alternative classrooms, supervised community treatment and suspension programs.
In the 1990’s, Four Oaks continued to improve its service by expanding the service delivery area as well as the programming it offers to children and families. The agency continued to focus on quality improvement, efficient delivery of services, employee retention, staff training and effective use of technology. The Four Oaks community sites exist to serve families locally, even when children are temporarily away from home in residential treatment or foster care. The agency and its staff have been recognized in Iowa and nationally for innovative and effective treatment of youth who come to the agency with a variety of behavioral and emotional problems. Four Oaks has received national recognition for its welfare reform programs that prevent child abuse and promote family self-sufficiency. The agency is a leader in developing partnerships with public and private entities that are designed to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of community based services.
As Four Oaks entered the new millennium, it began providing much needed prevention services which help kids and families overcome obstacles and avoid the need for intervention and/or residential treatment services. Four Oaks was able to provide a broad continuum of care ranging from prevention to intervention to residential treatment. In 2005, a new vision was developed by Jim Ernst that has become the driving force of the agency. The Four Oaks “Expect Success” vision is an innovative approach in which holistic services are provided to children in order to assure their success in childhood and adult life. Children are most successful in a stable, healthy family environment with access to basic resources such as food and clothing. Families are successful when they live in communities that have economic opportunities, social networks, and services such as affordable housing, employment opportunities, education, child care, and health care. By embracing the “Expect Success” vision, Four Oaks will either develop new programs or partner with existing agencies to provide services and resources that are essential to the success of kids and families. |
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The roots of Four Oaks began to grow in November 1973 when Ed Daley, who had dreamed of opening a home for boys, bought a brick house in rural Bertram, Iowa. The house was named “Boys Acres” and provided a home like setting for 10 young boys between the ages of 10 and 15 who had no other place to go. The Juvenile Court and the Department of Human Services referred the boys to the home as a place to grow up. While staying at Boys Acres, they attended school in Cedar Rapids and were involved in extra-curricular activities. They earned weekly allowances by performing chores on a small farming operation at the home.