"He who saves one life is as if he saved the entire world."
-TALMUD

HISTORY
Jewish Family & Children's Service was founded in 1944 and in 1946 began its resettlement program reuniting individuals and families who survived World War II with their local relatives.

During the next five years, over 700 refugees were resettled.

By 1960, resettlement had dwindled and remained relatively dormant until 1972 when we resettled our first refugee family from the (former) Soviet Union.

For the next several years, the Agency's resettlement program was active on a case to case basis, with funding from the Jewish Federation of North Jersey.

In the 1980's, the Agency formalized its program and participated in a Federal Grant (which continues to the present) to resettle and reunite a greater number of refugee families who had local relatives living in our service area.

In 1988, the flow of refugees increased dramatically, and in the past 12 years we have resettled over 1,100 individuals through the efforts of the Agency's resettlement staff, a cadre of volunteer support and community assistance from synagogues and local Jewish organizations.

RESETTLEMENT FUNDAMENTALS
PRE MIGRATION H.I.A.S (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) is an international agency that coordinates the resettlement of all Jewish refugees outside of Israel and helps to resettle other ethnic groups in a humanitarian effort with the support of the United States Government.

H.I.A.S sends a referral to our agency identifying a family in the former Soviet Union who wishes to come to join relatives who live in our catchment area. We refer to the family here as the anchor family. Our Resettlement Case Manager contacts the anchor family and schedules a meeting. At this meeting the Case Manager discusses in detail the agency's responsibilities when the family arrives and the anchor family's responsibilities. We require a deposit of $600 per person from the anchor family and the anchor family and Case Manager sign a contract outlining all the details and responsibilities discussed. Upon receipt of the deposit we notify H.I.A.S. that we are providing "Community Assurance." Without Community Assurance, the émigré family is unable to join its local relatives and may be placed in any geographical area in the United States.

FUNDING
Our agency participates in a Federal Grant for resettlement which is administered by H.I.A.S and requires detailed reports on financial and social service provided to the émigrés.

The standards of care include:

• Assistance with housing, furniture and household goods.
• Direct financial assistance as well as paying a portion of their rent.
• Based on the contract formula, our agency can receive up to $1,900 per capita.
• At the end of our fiscal year, our audited deficit is reimbursed to us by the Jewish Federation of North Jersey.
• The goals of the Matching Grant Program is to help refugees (wherever possible) attain self sufficiency within four months after date of arrival without accessing public assistance.

ARRIVAL H.I.A.S. calls the case manager approximately 5 days prior to the émigrés arrival. The agency is given flight numbers, airport location and time of arrival. The Case Manager calls the anchor family and schedules an appointment with émigrés and anchors as soon after arrival as possible.

At the first meeting the émigrés are given:

• Two books, "Entering a New Culture" and "The Jewish World" written in Russian and English.
• A health exam packet written in Russian and English. The Case Manager explains a physical exam must be completed within 30 days of arrival and they are referred to several clinics that provide this physical.
• An application for a social security card and information on how to apply for a Green Card.
• An appointment for a Home Visit, if the émigrés are renting an apartment. If the émigrés continue to live with the anchor family we, will schedule a home visit at the anchor's home.
• Referrals to Local Human Services Sites in order to apply for Medicaid and Food Stamps.

At the émigrés second meeting the following is explained:

• If the émigrés have rented an apartment prior to the Home Visit we must receive a copy of the lease and determine the amounts of money to be paid by the agency and the anchor. This is a shared obligation.
• We provide the émigrés with maintenance money to help cover expenses for food and personal items. The financial assistance continues for 3 months post-arrival for émigrés 65 years and over.

We provide financial assistance for families with employable members for the 2nd and 3rd and 4th months subsequent to arrival on the Matching Grant Program.

• An appointment is scheduled with our Vocational Counselor.
• Émigrés are referred to ESL Programs which are vital to the acculturation and employment process.
• Émigrés are in touch with the Resettlement Case Manager weekly for the first 4 months.
  • The following services are provided:
    1. Exposure to Jewish ideals, practices and values.
    2. Help with acculturation.
    3. Psychological/social counseling as needed.
    4. A free membership for 1 year at the "YM-YWHA."
    5. Coordination of donations of furniture for a new residence.
    6. Coordination of necessary clothing.
    7. Donation of a car to enhance employment opportunities.
    8. Books in English and Russian for Jewish Holidays.
    9. Food and/or financial assistance for the High Holidays, (Passover, Chanukah) etc.
    10. Ongoing social services as long as needed.
    11. Meetings with the Vocational Counselor are ongoing.

VOLUNTEER SERVICES Volunteer Services are available to the émigrés for acculturation, individual tutoring supplementing ESL classes, as well as transportation. The case manager coordinates the Volunteer Program, providing supervision for the volunteer and feedback from the family.

POST MIGRATION
We continue to provide ongoing social and concrete services to refugee families as needed for months or years. Services available to them include ongoing assistance with job searches, résumé writing, upgrading jobs, meetings with vocational counselor, volunteer services including transportation, ESL tutoring, an assistance with paperwork as well as referrals to medical specialists who volunteer their time. We continue to provide the Jewish acculturation services, including them in community services and celebrations on the Jewish holidays. We have a close and ongoing relationship with many refugee families for well over a decade who call upon us for assistance when problems arise.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM
Most recently, the United States government has determined that all previously approved refugees must be cleared through an updated security check. HIAS is hopeful that arrivals will resume in April, 2002.

Presently H.I.A.S. is hopeful that the program will be renewed by February 2002.

For further information, or to make an appointment, please call us at
(973) 595-0111 (Wayne) or (201) 796-5151 (Fair Lawn) or email at info@jfcsnj.org.