Jewish Board of Family and Child Services
The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services is a 110 year old organization responsible for mental health as well as social service for the Jewish community. It is the largest non-profit organization with about 175 programs in 80 locations. They are based out of New York and cater to the needs of about 65,000 New Yorkers annually.
The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS) has seven divisional boards. They are Professional Development & Training, Adults Living with Mental Illness, People Living with Developmental Disabilities, Children & Adolescents in Residence, Early Childhood & Learning, The Clinics and Jewish Community Services.
The members of the board meet once every three months to plan and execute various programs. These programs are planned by donors, volunteers, leaders, members and cheerleaders. The events or programs are designed to help raise funds and to help keep in touch with their clients.
There are about 2,000 volunteers and 2,200 employees working for Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. Most of the employees are licensed psychologists and psychiatrists. There are also professional social workers and other clinical support personnel taking care of the day and residential treatment centers.
The JBFCS is under the leadership of Paul Levine who is the Executive Vice-President and CEO, while Leonardo I. Rodriguez is the Deputy Executive Vice-President of the organization. JBFCS also established Rita Markus Training Institute in 1999. The purpose of the institute is to train workers and supervisors in JBFCS.
The institute has also trained over 18,000 people and offers training for staffs working in schools and other places. JBFCS has also started Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services Center for Trauma Program Innovation in the year 1998. The center develops innovative programs to handle the trauma associated with disasters and terrorism. The center also promotes programs to address the issues of social and community violence. The organization is certainly growing in popularity with every passing day.
Purpose
The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS) has a mission of serving people who are in need. They have number of mental health and social service programs to cater to the needs of people irrespective of age, economic or social status. Each division of Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services has a mission to reach out to different sections of people.
For example, under the Early Childhood and Leaning division, they have the Child Development Center (CDC) which cater to children between one and half years and seven years of age. The aim of this division is to help children with delays in communication, motor development and play skills. They also have programs to help children with disorders in behavior and social adjustment.
JBFCS also provides social service through their ten residential facilities which cater to children and adolescents aged between six and twenty one. There are about 400 children with severe emotional and psychological problems. Their mental health clinics cater to about 11,000 outpatients annually and they also provide counseling for young children.
Under the division of People Living with Developmental Disabilities, there are about 150 people residing in Brooklyn and Westchester centers. These people have different developmental disabilities and the center has specific programs to help them.
The training and professional development division provides a platform to share information of best practices in mental health and social service. This is achieved by publications, conducting classes, residential programs and internship. JBFCS also have specialized programs for Jewish community.
These are administered through trained social workers who visit the concerned people to provide counseling or support of any kind necessary. The JBFCS has also treated more than 1,200 adults with serious mental illness. They provide residence for homeless adults and young people by moving them out to foster homes.
History
Two organizations were formed in the year 1893, namely Jewish Prisoner's Aid Society and United Hebrew Charities. These two organizations which made a humble beginning emerged as one of the largest mental health and social service organization known as Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services (JBFCS). The Jewish Prisoner's Aid Society caters to the needs of Jewish prisoners and their families.
United Hebrew Charities helped the poor by providing assistance to improve their condition. In 1920, these two organizations changed their name to Jewish Board of Guardians and the Jewish Social Services Association. These organizations also created programs to address homelessness, apart from the social service programs provided by them.
The Jewish Board of Guardians and the Jewish Social Services Association served numerous children and families between 1940s and 1950s. They provided these thorough counseling and number of mental health care programs. They also provided training to social workers dealing with mental illness patients.
Throughout 1960s and 1970s both the organizations catered to the needs of both Jewish people and those from other backgrounds in New York. This was a period of social turbulence when the society witnessed a high rate of crime, poverty, drug abuse, generational gap conflicts in families and juvenile delinquency.
In 1978, The Jewish Board of Guardians and the Jewish Social Services Association emerged to form The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. In the 1980's and 1990's, when JBFCS faced funding problems, UJA-Federation of New York stepped in and provided the much needed funds.
With the help of these funds, JBFCS was able to take number of initiatives to improve lives of thousands of people. Some of the programs undertaken by JBFCS include Day Camp Scholarships for Needy Children, Mental Health GPS, subsidy for treatment of depression in their counseling centers and many others.
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