News & Impact

Marin Independent Journal by Jim Staats As another holiday season approaches in a downtrodden economy, Marin social service agencies are bracing for a much higher demand for food, toys and supplies to make it to the new year. County organizations dealing with the double-whammy of a greater need and fewer resources to work with are having to rely on more community involvement to fill the gaps. Read More from the Marin Independent Journal… Read More

J Weekly by Steven Friedman Yelena Mozeson couldn’t help thinking of her late grandfather as she stood, overlooking the audience, on the day she became a bat mitzvah. “All my Jewish memories are from him,” said the 55-year-old native of Riga, Latvia, whose grandfather died when she was a teen. “My parents weren’t religious or observant, but I started to wonder a few years ago what Judaism was all about. I really wanted to know more about what was my grandfather’s world. Read More from J Weekly… Read More

Long a leader in serving refugees and immigrants, Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin, and Sonoma counties was recently selected to receive a highly competitive grant from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Office of Citizenship. Approximately 290 agencies nationwide applied for the grant. Of the 13 grant recipients, JFCS was the sole Bay Area awardee. The grant will help JFCS expand its model Citizenship Services program, which provides legal permanent residents with the educational and legal services they need to secure U.S. citizenship successfully. In the past decade alone, JFCS has… Read More

Parenting on the Peninsula by Karen Vanuska A child’s white-knuckled clutch of a teddy bear. Uncontrollable crying at the sound of a rage-filled voice. Bed-wetting at the sound of a siren. A fierce kick to a playmate’s shin on the playground. These are all symptoms that an infant, toddler, or young child may be suffering from emotional or physical stress. Untreated, these children are likely to grow up with behavioral problems, become dropouts from school, or suffer from depression or problems with substance abuse. Why? Because, according to Lesley Sternin, Director of the Child Trauma Training Institute in San Francisco,… Read More

Palo Alto Online News by Chris Kenrick Providing for special needs children in lean times — such as facing state budget cuts — will be the topic at a gathering of experts in Palo Alto Thursday. “Crisis and Opportunity: A Policy Forum about Early Intervention Services for Children with Special Needs,” will begin at 6 p.m. at the Koret Family Resource Center of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, 200 Channing Ave. Read More from Palo Alto Online News… Read More

Experts in programs for young children with special needs will be convening a forum on Thursday, October 22, at Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) in Palo Alto to discuss how best to provide for these vulnerable clients in lean times and under a fragmented system. The forum, “Crisis and Opportunity: A Policy Forum About Early Intervention Services for Children with Special Needs,” is cosponsored by JFCS’ Center for Special Needs and its Public Issues Committee of the Peninsula, Abilities United of Palo Alto, the Stanford University Center for Autism and Related Disorders, and Community Gatepath of Burlingame. The forum… Read More