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Who We Are

About Us

Agency History

Central Plains Center for Services is a private, non-profit social service agency. Since its founding in October 1994, the Agency has remained committed to its purpose and mission of "offering opportunities for positive change to individuals, families, and communities." This is achieved through various services, including Transitional and Independent Living Coaching, Educational Programs, Financial Literacy Services, and Early Childhood Education. The administrative office in Broken Bow, Nebraska, reflects our strong rural roots and perspective in our statewide work. In addition, we have offices in Lincoln and Omaha to better serve urban and more populous areas. Our 41 dedicated and highly skilled staff are located throughout Nebraska, providing coverage to all of the state's 93 counties and 76,121 square miles. Our strategic geographic distribution of staff ensures that we can easily serve our populations wherever they are located.

Who We Serve

We provide supportive and transitional services to youth, young adults, and families aged 14-25 who have experienced foster care, who are homelessness or at risk of homelessness, those who are pregnant and/or parenting and meet federal poverty guidelines, and those who are victims of human and labor trafficking. 

Mission & History

Mission: Offering opportunities for positive change to individuals, families, and communities.

Vision: Empowering those we serve to live a life of excellence.

Agency Values

Values are those things that really matter to each of us ... A value is a belief, a mission, or a meaningful philosophy. Whether we are consciously aware of them or not, every individual has a core set of personal values. Values can range from the commonplace, such as the belief in hard work and punctuality, to the more psychological, such as self-reliance, concern for others, and harmony of purpose. Agencies also have values that are as important as personal values. Relationships, Commitment, Humility, Integrity, and Appreciation comprise Central Plains Center for Services' values. 

The key point to keep in mind about values is that implementing them energizes everything they touch. When an agency adopts values, the individuals working at the organization become energized, as does everyone and everything else associated with that organization

  • RelationshipsA relationship is how two or more people are connected or how they behave toward each other. The keys to a good relationship are honesty, communication, trust, and commitment. Relationships impact happiness, quality of life, and our ability to cope. The foundation of our work with youth is centered on the relationships we build with them. Our agency was created with the understanding of the importance of this critical first step, and it remains the foundation of our work today.

  • Commitment

    Commitment is a dedication to what you truly believe is important. It is an agreement or pledge to do something now and in the future. It forms the bond you create with others. This bond reinforces the belief that what you do is important and fuels the energy and initiative you bring to work every day. Commitment to the young person, the work, and the Agency directly connects to the relationship, which strengthens the foundation.

  • Humility

    Humility is having a genuine desire to discover what other people can offer. What humility does is create a receptacle of acceptance in us so we are open to being filled with the knowledge and opinions of others. Humility is an act of courtesy. It is expressed when we are compassionate, patient, and calm. Humility means speaking to the higher purpose of accountability in our work and those we serve. Our Agency is interested in adding value to the world and seeks to find ways to make this happen by remaining humble in our work.

  • Integrity

    Integrity is demonstrating sound moral and ethical principles. It is the foundation on which others build trust and effective interpersonal relationships. Integrity in an individual’s professional and personal life is maintaining a high code of behavior, honesty, trustworthiness, and respectfulness. It delves deeply into having a sense of fairness and justice and goes beyond merely exhibiting these attributes. Integrity is to act in a way that upholds the highest level of ethical behavior. It is the value in which we exhibit “consistency of character” in our choices and actions.

  • Appreciation

    Appreciation is recognition of people's magnitude, significance, value, and quality. It is the act of recognizing that something is valuable or important. It includes recognizing someone’s worth as a person and showing you are grateful for the value they bring to your life. The art of appreciation extends not just to others but to ourselves. The power of being grateful significantly impacts people, as appreciation alters how you perceive and interpret what happens to you.

Coaching Model

Central Plains’ innovative Coaching Model encompasses a youth-centered, strength-based approach to service delivery. Our coaching model is heavily grounded in evidence-based practices, which has allowed Central Plains’ dedicated and qualified staff to establish meaningful and trusting relationships with program participants through in-person connections. Central Plains Coaching is perfectly suited to a time when a young person’s future is yet to be determined.

The process of our Coaching Model centers on an ongoing one-on-one partnership between the young person and a professional coach who together assess the youth’s individual situation; explore their mindset around their strengths, abilities, potential, and personal vision; and take action toward the young person’s desired independent living and transitional goals. This results in sustainable and meaningful growth. Coaching centers on improving each individual participant’s belonging, meaning, well-being, and purpose for their life, while respecting their identity, environment, experiences, values, and beliefs.

Our Coaching Model is unique in that it is future-focused and solution-oriented. It emphasizes the practice of asking young people about their goals and future rather than telling them, which distinguishes Central Plains' coaching approach from other “helping” professions. 

Central Plains Center for Services' Coaching Model is made up of an approach that encompasses

Central Plains offers a comprehensive youth-driven system of support that meets youth’s basic needs and helps them realize their aspirations. We use a multi-faceted prevention framework that is flexible enough to meet the needs of youth regardless of their background and experiences. Our framework is integrated into our coaching, education, and financial literacy services. Our services encompass a trauma-informed, relationship-based, youth-led, strength-based, goal-oriented, future-focused, solution-oriented, data-informed, and hope-centered approach. Coaching can help youth reach their goals and thrive when applied effectively and consistently. Our services are not only effective but have also been highly valued by the youth we serve

Coaching Attributes. Central Plains’ Coaching Model is based on a philosophy that is utilized by all coaches and is shaped by the following, yet incomplete, attributes: 

  • Active listening
  • Emotional Awareness
  • Encouragement
  • Kindness
  • Reliability
  • Approachability
  • Patience
  • Non-judgmental guidance
  • Understanding
  • Authenticity
  • Practicality
  • Thoughtfulness
  • Hope

Voluntary Approach. What makes Central Plains coaching different from other youth-serving programs is that our coaching model is based on the voluntary use of services. This helps establish autonomy for youth to determine their level of involvement in our services. This approach has consistently allowed for the development of a trusting, respectful relationship between the young person and their coach, which we believe increases the youth’s likelihood of establishing similar relationships with others throughout their life and leading them to a more successful transition to adulthood. 

Relationships. The voluntary nature of Coaching, paired with coaches who effectively use coaching attributes fosters openness, trust, and a strong connection between a Coach and a young person, leading to a more authentic relationship. Relationship building is critical to our coaching model’s approach and effectiveness.   

Coaching Goal Domains. Through collaboration, ongoing engagement, and flexibility, coaches tailor their approach for each youth’s individual transition to adulthood by helping them identify goals related to the following independent living domains:  

  • Housing & Daily Living
  • Employment
  • Financial Literacy/Budgeting
  • Education 
  • Parenting Support
  • Relationships/Permanency/Community Engagement/Leadership
  • Transportation 
  • Physical & Mental Health and Wellness

Evidence-Based Coaching Foundations. Further strengthening our work, Central Plains uses extensive, evidence-based training that results in coaches having the knowledge and skills to successfully put into practice what they have learned as they work side-by-side with youth and strive to help them reach their fullest potential. Central Plains is committed to training all staff in the following: 

  • Center for the Study of Social Policy Youth Thrive™ and Families Thrive - A  strength-based theoretical framework developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP). Youth Thrive™ reflects the idea that all youth have the potential for successful, healthy development and well-being, and the framework examines how all youth can be supported in ways that advance healthy development to reduce the likelihood or impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Families Thrive is a combined dual-generation approach that merges two existing evidence-based frameworks—Youth Thrive™ and Strengthening Families™ —to promote well-being across the lifespan for both children and youth-as-parents. Families Thrive ensures coaches engage in developmentally appropriate activities with youth and families. The framework includes five interrelated protective and promotive factors:
    • Youth Resilience
    • Social Connections
    • Knowledge of Child, Adolescent, and Parenting Development
    • Concrete Support in Times of Need
    • Cognitive and Social-Emotional Competence
  • Trauma-Informed Care - Trauma-informed practices, including Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg’s Reaching Teens Toolkit, aim to reduce additional trauma to youth and their families while reframing adolescence from a time to “get through” to a time of opportunity, growth, and connection with caring adults.
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Your Money, Your Goals Toolkit - This financial empowerment toolkit is for social service program(s), human service case managers, system case managers, and front-line workers. It includes online booklets and materials intended to increase the financial empowerment of program recipients.  
  • Jobs for the Future Back on Track (BOT) - A three-tiered framework and approach with specific strategies coaches can use to help youth explore, navigate, and succeed in postsecondary and career pathways by focusing on preparation, bridging, and first-year support and beyond.
  • Askable Adults Matter - A framework that prepares adults who support young people to be more approachable and knowledgeable about adolescent sexual and reproductive health and be proactive in referring young people for sexual and reproductive healthcare.  

Youth Leadership. Central Plains recognizes the importance of extending learning beyond schools and integrating it within the community and family. Through our coaching programs, we provide personalized connections to leadership opportunities tailored to each youth's strengths, leading to improved student development and academic achievement. We've discovered that the youth we serve, who often struggle with low confidence and self-esteem, need to feel seen, heard, appreciated, and understood before they can succeed in education. Therefore, we collaborate with local, regional, and national partners to identify various leadership opportunities that promote youth development, skill-building, and engagement in the community that lead to personal and academic growth. This leadership approach directly impacts youth, families, schools, and communities, and we are dedicated to building strong, trust-based relationships between students, schools, and the community to expand the leadership opportunities available to youth. Our individualized approach supports the capacity for positive change at the individual level

Two-Generation Approach. Central Plains’ coaching model offers a two-generation approach that builds trust and supportive relationships with pregnant and/or parenting young adults and their child(ren) to ensure positive outcomes for the whole family.

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