The Jewish Board of Family & Children's Services, Inc. (JBFCS)is a voluntary, not-for-profit mental health and social services agency with origins in the Jewish tradition of responsibility for the sick and troubled. In accord with this tradition, it continues to uphold as one of its primary obligations service to the Jewish community, while recognizing and fulfilling commitment to also extend services to the general community. JBFCS provides a broad and growing array of services, including residential and day services for children and adolescents; community-based mental health and preventative services for families, adults, and children; residential and day programs for mentally ill adults; services to the developmentally disabled, and a variety of specialized programs. To support this focus, JBFCS draws upon and enhances the skills of a wide and expanding variety of staff, including social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, child care workers, creative arts therapists, nurses, educators, and lawyers.

Description and/or History:
JBFCS, one of the nation's premier mental health and social service agencies, offers a diverse network of more than 185 community-based programs, residential facilities, and day treatment centers. Our programs reach more than 65,000 people of all religious, ethnic, and economic backgrounds each year at sites throughout New York City and Westchester and through extensive training, consultation, and information dissemination.
JBFCS is committed to enhancing and maintaining the mental health and social functioning of individuals, families, and targeted groups, both in the Jewish community and the broader community. Towards that end, it provides the following:

1. Treatment of children, families, and adults with a wide variety of problems, from the chronically mentally ill or severely developmentally disabled to normally-functioning people struggling with the ordinary stresses of life.
2. Social services to relieve problems, whether acute or chronic, that have a debilitating effect on individuals and families.
3. Early intervention services and education to strengthen family life, prevent family or individual breakdown, and identify problems in their early stages. We place special emphasis on mental health consultation in community settings; early childhood programs that engage families in learning about child development; and strengthening Jewish individual and family networks.
4. Advocacy for individual clients to assist them in receiving the services and benefits they need.
5. System-wide advocacy for legislation and funding to support human services programs.

Throughout its 112 years of service, JBFCS has been at the forefront of providing innovative responses to ever-changing community need. JBFCS has built on this legacy by responding quickly and creatively to the changing needs of our society, developing services for immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1970's, responding to the AIDS crisis in the mid 1980's, and in the 1990's, increasing the range of help available to battered women and to batterers. As the 21st century began, new challenges faced our city- and our world- with the attacks of September 11th and the devastating aftermath. Once again, JBFCS was at the frontlines, responding with compassion and meaningful care.


Contact person: Volunteer Services, (212) 632-4687, (email)


Office fax number: (212) 632-4795

Address:


120 West 57th St. New York, NY 10019 (See a map)


Web Site: http://www.jbfcs.org