Nebraska Children's Home Society

Nebraska Children’s Home Society provides safe and loving care to children of all ages. NCHS began serving children in 1893.

Office Locations: We have offices in Omaha (3), Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, Norfolk, North Platte, and Scottsbluff.

Pregnancy, Parenting & Adoption: NCHS provides free, confidential support and education on the option of parenting or adoption to anyone experiencing an unplanned pregnancy to help them make the best decision for them and their child. NCHS’ adoption services include ongoing education and support groups for birth parents, potential adoptive parents, adoptive parents and those who were adopted through NCHS. Through the Lincoln-based Joshua Collingsworth Center, post-adoption services, including counseling, support, education, and resource referrals, are available to anyone involved in the adoption process, even those who did not initially use NCHS services. Search services are available to those who have placed a child, or were adopted through NCHS.

Foster Care & Pathways to Permanency: The foster care program at NCHS provides foster care for children of all ages – from newborn to adolescent – who are placed in our care by other agencies, the court, or voluntarily by the child’s parents. The program also provides in-home support services to prevent unnecessary out of home placement. NCHS foster care caseworkers offer ongoing support and networking opportunities for our foster families.

Early Childhood Education: The Early Childhood program teaches children appropriate academic, social and life skills – ultimately striving for each child to be successful at home, at school and in the community.

Children and Family Center: Free pregnancy, parenting, baby care, and teen chat classes are offered, along with resources and referrals, through our Omaha-based Fontenelle Children and Family Center.

If you’d like to learn more about us, feel free to browse our website – www.nchs.org and learn about our programs. In addition, visit the Foundation pages to learn how you can support our services and get involved.

Our Cornerstone:

There’s an old saying, “To know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been.” So, before you read anything else, we’d like you to take a few moments to journey back in time with us in 1893 to meet a man named Dr. E.P. Quivey.

Dr. Quivey was a chaplain at the Iowa State Reformatory. Through his experiences, he became convinced that “juvenile delinquency” could be eliminated by placing young boys in decent homes rather than in reform schools. So, he and his wife became affiliated with the National Children’s Home Society, a federation of 26 state child-placing societies.

In Nebraska, Dr. Quivey found between 60 and 100 children housed at The Homes of the Friendless. It wasn’t long before plans were laid for a corporation. Despite financial struggles and other obstacles, the National Children’s Home Society survived in Nebraska – and eventually became Nebraska Children’s Home Society.

In 1922, its Board of Trustees met to discuss a permanent “receiving station.” On February 1, 1924, a new home was opened on Fontenelle Boulevard in Omaha and sixty years later, the Society opened its first out-state office in Scottsbluff.

Today, Nebraska Children’s Home Society provides services statewide and continues to grow.