History
For more than 70 years, Jewish Family & Children's Service has been the safety net for individuals and families in the Greater Pittsburgh community. Since its inception, the focus of JF&CS has been to support our friends and neighbors through difficult life transitions and times of personal crisis, offering programs and services for every stage of life.
1843
- Founding of Hebrew Benevolent Society
- Pittsburgh's first Jewish charitable organization.
1861
- Founding of Hebrew Ladies Aid Society
- To deal with health and welfare problems stemming from Civil War.
1880
- Merger of Hebrew Benevolent Society with Hebrew Ladies Aid Society to form United Hebrew Relief Association (UHRA).
- To assist immigrants and to provide relief to the needy.
1912
- Formation of the Pittsburgh Federation of Jewish Philanthropies with UHRA a charter member.
- To centralize community fundraising and allocations.
1927
- UHRA changed its name to Jewish Welfare Association (JWA).
1937
- Merger of JWA with the Jewish Big Brothers Association, the Girls Bureau, Pittsburgh Bureau for Jewish Children, and Service to Foreign Born of the National Council of Jewish Women, to give the agency its present form and structure under the name of Jewish Social Service Bureau.
1950
- Jewish Social Service Bureau changes name to Jewish Family & Children's Service.
- To better indicate nature of service.
1959
- Establishment of department of services to the Jewish Aged.
- To meet the needs of elderly members of the community and their families.
1964
- Gusky Child Guidance Clinic (GCGC) established.
- To offer outpatient mental health services to children under the direction and responsibility of a trained child psychiatrist.
1965
- Affiliation with the Office of Economic Opportunity.
- First affiliation with a publicly funded agency. To provide service to the under-privileged in the East Liberty/Garfield Area
1974-79
- Establishment of resettlement services.
- To meet the needs of refugees from the Soviet Union.
1982
- Licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for Outpatient Counseling.
- State monitoring of clinical services.
1984
- Established administration of the Career Development Center (CDC) of the United Jewish Federation (UJF).
- To enlarge the scope of service and allow JF&CS to offer vocational guidance.
1986
- Recognized by the Pittsburgh Foundation as one of the 40 major contributors to the Renaissance of the City of Pittsburgh.
- Established JF&CS in the secular community as a vital part of the entire community.
1988
- JF&CS celebrated its 50th Anniversary.
1989
- CDC assumes administration of the Central Scholarship and Loan Referral Service of the UJF.
- Establish the Resettlement Division of Jewish Family & Children's Service.
- To serve the expanding numbers of Jews from the Soviet Union.
1991
- Jews with AIDS in the Family established.
- To offer information and support to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS.
1992
- Funding received from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF) for the study of community needs and agency programs and services for the purpose of establishing priorities within the agency.
- Development of long term strategic plan for the agency.
- Ukeles Study by the UJF, a plan for services to the Jewish Elderly.
- Expansion of services to the elderly, adoption and college counseling services.
- Mobay teams up with the CDC to initiate the Mobay Challenge
- To stimulate community recognition of New Americans' credentials and potential contributions, and to challenge area employers to find creative ways to hire them.
- JF&CS establishes Domestic Violence Program with funding from Ladies Hospital Aid Society (LHAS).
- To reach out to and service victims of family violence.
1993
- Established Guardianship Program.
- To enable JF&CS to assume legal responsibility for persons unable to make responsible decisions for themselves.
1994
- In an interim move, JF&CS administrative, counseling and senior services move to Regent Square from space in UJF.
- To provide more space for growing services until move to JF&CS's proposed Darlington and Bartlett site in Squirrel Hill.
1995
- JF&CS established as Trustee of the Goldstein Memorial Fund, a fund with a principle in excess of $2 million.
- To allow JF&CS/CDC to award significant scholarships to worthy students.
1996
- Jewish Care Coordination Program (JCCP) established in cooperation with the Jewish Community Center (JCC).
- To provide comprehensive supports for children with special needs and their families.
- CDC named Contractor of the Year by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor's Job Training Partnership (JTPA).
- Recognition of the quality and volume of placements in a field of 40 vendors contracted locally for JTPA services.
- Welfare Reform Act
- Elderly & disabled refugees who have lived in the U.S. for more than 5 years without becoming U.S. citizens are in danger of losing public support.
- JF&CS establishes the Pittsburgh Naturalization Project (PNAP).
- To identify and prepare people for naturalization.
- JF&CS moves to its current home at 5743 Bartlett Street.
- With help from community's Renaissance Campaign, JF&CS now owns its own facility. Allows consolidation of JF&CS and CDC offices.
- Family Hope Connection (FHC) established with funding from the JHF, LHAS, the Haskell Family Endowment and other donors.
- Expanded adoption services to help those touched by infertility.
1998
- Grant from the Jewish Material Claims Conference Against Germany allows establishment of Holocaust Survivors' Project.
- Funds provided for the identification of and assistance to elderly Holocaust survivors in need.
- First community-wide Disability Awareness Month project established by the JCCP staff.
- Establishment of this community-wide Disability Awareness Month and involvement of numerous congregations, schools, and other organizations enhances community awareness and promotes inclusiveness.
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania/ State Department of Public Welfare funds expansion of Pittsburgh, Naturalization Assistance Program creating the Pennsylvania Naturalization Assistance Program (PNAP).
- Increased funding allows resettlement staff to reach beyond the Pittsburgh community to assist legal permanent residents in danger of losing public support if not naturalized.
1999
- CDC receives the International Association of Jewish Vocational Services Best Program Award for their School-to-Work program.
- JF&CS licensed for Foster Family Care.
- To provide FHC professionals another option for prospective adoptive families to consider.
- Resettlement Department changes name to Refugee & Immigration Service Center (RISC).
- To reflect the expansion of services to include immigration and naturalization services.
- Kosher SuperPantry
- Administration of the Kosher SuperPantry taken on by JF&CS after one year of administration by another organization.
2000
- East Liberty Project
- United Way of Allegheny County funds a demonstrative mental health program with JF&CS in East Liberty area of Pittsburgh.
2001
- RISC received recognition from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) as a Non-Profit Immigration Provider Organization (NIPO).
- To provide immigration services to individuals with limited financial resources.
- CDC recognized as CareerLink Community Center
- To provide a broad range of employment and career services to the Squirrel Hill community.
2002
- JF&CS partners with UJF, JCC and JAA to provide services to the elderly under a new federal grant
- NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) Program of the Department of Aging is designed to help senior citizens maintain their independence as long as possible in their homes.
2004
- The continuum of services to the elderly in the Jewish community is integrated into the AgeWell Pittsburgh model
- AgeWell is created to ease access to aging services for families and to eliminate duplications in service.
2005
- Established the Welcome Center for Immigrants and Internationals (as a supporting non-profit of JF&CS).
- The Center was established to be a central resource for information and services designed to help immigrants and multi-cultural populations as they relocate and adapt to the Greater Pittsburgh region.
2006
- November 2006, the Counseling department of JF&CS launches its new name - "Squirrel Hill Psychological Services".
- The new name, Squirrel Hill Psychological Services, will better represent the populations we serve, as well as the range of services offered to the community through JF&CS.
- November 2006, JF&CS recognized by Pittsburgh Business Times as one of the 50 best places to work in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
- Rating as a result of direct employee feedback to the Pittsburgh Business Times.
2007
- February 2007 the Kosher SuperPantry changes name to "Squirrel Hill Food Pantry".
- Squirrel Hill Food Pantry more accurately reflects what the pantry is and who it serves.
2008
- Established new entity: "Legal Services for Immigrants and Internationals"
- To provide legal services to low income and indigent immigrants.
- JF&CS refocused on refugees from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma
- To meet the needs of refugees by providing case management services.
- Making Hope Happen Exhibit
- In celebration of JF&CS's 70 years of service to the community, we commissioned eight artists to create works that interpret and respond to stories of individuals served by JF&CS in each of our eight service areas -- adoption, career development, counseling, guardianship, food pantry, older adult services, special needs and refugee and immigrant services. Each piece is a testament both to the tremendous impact JF&CS has on our community's individuals and families in need as well as to visual arts' ability to address social concerns.There were three educational programs supplementing the exhibits, including an opening program (Imagining Hope), an artists' symposium and a photo journalistic essay on our work with the Burmese refugees.The exhibit was on display in the American Jewish Museum from February 18, 2008 through August 15, 2008; and then was moved to the gallery of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation where it hung until moving to its permanent home at JF&CS offices at the end of 2008.
- JF&CS recognized by the Non-profit Sector of Southwestern Pennsylvania
- JF&CS recognized for quality and consistency of services and excellence in the communications on Community Trends: Acceleration of the Contributions of the Nonprofit Sector in Southwestern Pennsylvania. A publication of The Forbes Funds of The Pittsburgh Foundation.
2009
- Establishment of Care Coordination Program
- Care Coordination, launched with foundation funding and sustained through fees for service, provides new model of support to the elderly living in the community.
- Establishment of Work-Able Program
- Work-Able, funded by foundations, established to provide career/employment services to adults suffering from mental health disorders.
