Hardwiring Hope: A Human Services Giant Bets on Science to Fight Despair

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – August 12, 2026 – In a sector defined by crisis management and staggering rates of professional burnout, one of the nation's largest human services organizations is making a radical bet on a simple, yet profound, concept: hope. Omni Family of Services, a provider of child welfare and behavioral health services across 10 states, has just been named the country's third Certified Hope-Centered Organization by the University of Oklahoma’s Hope Research Center. While the announcement comes with a press release and corporate accolades, the real story lies beneath the surface. This isn't about a new motivational poster in the breakroom. It's about a systematic, science-backed effort to rewire an organization of over 1,200 employees on the front lines of human suffering, with the goal of proving that hope can be taught, measured, and scaled—not just for the families they serve, but for the very people tasked with helping them.

Beyond the Buzzword: The Anatomy of Hope

For most, hope is a fleeting emotion, a vague wish for a better tomorrow. But for the researchers behind this movement and the organizations adopting it, hope is a science. The framework, largely built on the work of the late psychologist C.R. Snyder, defines hope as a cognitive, goal-oriented process—a psychological strength that can be cultivated. It’s not passive optimism; it’s an active state of mind.

The “Science of Hope” deconstructs this process into three core, teachable components:

1. Goals: Having clear, meaningful, and achievable objectives. For a family in crisis, this isn’t about a five-year plan; it might be as concrete as securing stable housing or ensuring a child attends school for a full week.

2. Pathways: The perceived ability to generate multiple routes to achieve those goals. This is the strategic part of hope—believing that if one door closes, another can be found or built. It’s about teaching contingency planning as a life skill.

3. Agency: The willpower and motivational energy to actually walk those paths. This is the engine of hope, the belief in one’s own ability to effect change.

This distinction is critical. By treating hope as a measurable, trainable skill rather than an abstract feeling, the Hope Research Center and its partners are attempting to create a practical toolkit for resilience. Their research indicates that higher levels of hope are a significant predictor of well-being, buffering the toxic effects of trauma and adversity. For a human services organization dealing daily with the fallout of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), this isn't just an interesting theory; it’s a potential lifeline.

A Statewide Experiment Becomes a National Blueprint

Omni’s journey to certification wasn’t a weekend workshop. It was a multi-year transformation that began in 2023 with a strategic partnership called the Hope Collective, a collaboration between Omni, the Hope Research Center, and the Attend Behavior technology platform. The initiative was seeded by a four-year Tennessee Department of Children's Services ACEs Innovation Grant, a state-funded effort to find new ways to mitigate the long-term impact of childhood trauma.

What started as a focused project in Tennessee quickly revealed its potential. The principles began to permeate the entire organization, influencing everything from leadership training and employee support to clinical practices in behavioral health and child welfare.

“This recognition reflects a transformational journey for our organization,” said Jane Wintz, Chief Executive Officer of Omni Family of Services. “The Science of Hope has become more than a professional development initiative. It has become part of our culture—shaping how we lead, support our employees, strengthen our services, and partner with children and families to build brighter futures. We are honored to become the nation's third Certified Hope-Centered Organization.”

The certification process itself was an exhaustive undertaking, involving a deep self-study and a fidelity review by the Hope Research Center. It validated that the organization was truly embedding these principles from the top down and the bottom up.

From Theory to the Front Lines

The true test of any corporate initiative is its impact on the ground. For Omni, this meant training a dedicated group of “Hope Navigators” to champion the framework within their teams. It meant integrating hope-based goal setting into clinical sessions with families and creating internal “Communities of Practice” where staff could share strategies and support one another. The focus was twofold: improve client outcomes and combat the epidemic of burnout that plagues the social work profession.

By equipping its workforce with practical tools to cultivate hope in themselves and their clients, the organization is directly addressing the secondary trauma and emotional exhaustion that lead to high turnover rates. This is where the framework’s power may be most profound—in sustaining the people who do the work.

“The Science of Hope provides practical, research-based strategies that strengthen resilience, improve workforce well-being, and create better outcomes for the children and families we serve,” explained Mindy Kiser, President of Omni Family Institute, the organization’s training and consulting arm launched in 2023. “We are incredibly proud to help lead this work nationally.”

The certification review specifically lauded the leadership of Amy Savage, Omni Family Institute’s Hope Ambassador, for her role in guiding the implementation. This recognition of an internal leader underscores that such a cultural shift requires more than executive buy-in; it demands relentless, passionate advocacy at every level.

A New Standard for a Sector in Crisis?

Omni’s certification places it in a small but growing cohort of organizations looking beyond traditional, deficit-focused models of care. While Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) has rightfully become an industry standard—recognizing and responding to the impact of past trauma—the hope-centered approach adds a critical, future-oriented dimension. It asks not only “What happened to you?” but also “What do you want for your future, and how can we help you build the pathways to get there?”

This movement is gaining institutional traction. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services has been on a similar multi-year journey to embed hope science across its entire state agency, suggesting that this is a scalable model for large, complex systems. By achieving this formal certification, Omni is positioning itself as a national leader and setting a new, evidence-backed standard for what it means to be a truly responsive and effective human services provider.

Whether this represents a paradigm shift or a passing trend remains to be seen. The challenges of implementation are immense, requiring sustained investment and unwavering commitment. But in a field where despair can often feel like a default setting, the decision to systematically and scientifically cultivate hope is, in itself, a radical act.

“This achievement belongs to every employee who has embraced hope as part of our culture,” Wintz added. “Together, we are demonstrating that when organizations intentionally cultivate hope, they create stronger teams, healthier workplaces, and better outcomes for the people they serve.”