Refugee Resettlement Services

As a founding member of the Illinois Refugee Consortium, resettling refugees and immigrants has been an integral part of the rich history of Jewish Child & Family Services. Over the last 140 years, thousands of individuals from the Soviet Union, Iran, Indochina, Western Europe and Uganda have become part of the Chicago community with the assistance of Refugee Resettlement Services and additional Jewish Federation agencies.

Through contracts with state and federal governments, Refugee Resettlement Services provide initial support to refugees referred to JCFS through HIAS (The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) New York. Currently, most of the immigrants assisted by JCFS are relocating to Chicago from the Former Soviet Union and Iran.

Refugee Resettlement Services provide bilingual JCFS resettlement workers that offer case management, financial assistance and counseling services. To improve refugees’ adjustment process to life in their new country, JCFS works in collaboration with medical, educational, and vocational resources and provides referrals to clients as appropriate. In addition, Refugee Resettlement Services offers counseling and referral assistance to other immigrant groups.

HIAS Chicago, which advocates for the rights of refugees and immigrants on local, state and national levels, provides a broad range of pre and post migration services that connect to the JCFS Refugee Resettlement Services. HIAS guides Jewish immigrants and others through the immigration process to the ultimate goal of United States citizenship and aids individuals in bringing their families to the United States.