Blog

We all have a shared responsibility to protect children from harm, and each of us, regardless of our familial, social, communal, or professional role, can contribute to the overall safety of children. Creating safer communities begins with understanding what children need from the adults around them.

Early childhood clinicians from JCFS Chicago’s Integrated Pediatric Therapies (IPT) and the Virginia Frank Child Development Center (VFCDC) are teaming up this spring to offer a class for new parents and caregivers who want to better understand and support their baby’s early developmental journey. Read further or learn more about the class and register here.

JCFS Chicago is proud to partner with Keshet to offer First Friends, a welcoming, play-based program for families of infants and toddlers with disabilities or complex medical needs. 

There is a particular kind of weight that settles in during prolonged uncertainty. It does not always come from a single loss. Grief does not only follow death. It can also arise from what feels fragile, unresolved, or uncertain.

Ask Andrew if he enjoys the applause he receives after a performance and you’ll get to see his face light up. Andrew, who lives in an integrated community living home supported by JCFS Chicago, has been acting for several years, most recently as Dr. Frankenstein in a production with A.B.L.E.—Artists Breaking Limits & Expectations.

When Jewish Community Services intern Ally Frank helped to update JCFS Chicago’s online Mental Health Shabbat resources, she never imagined it would lead her back to her alma mater. But just a few weeks later, Ally led a Mental Health Shabbat service at the Purdue Hillel in West Lafayette, Indiana.

A $1,000 donation to JCFS Chicago recently provided some residents with the opportunity to pay it forward. The anonymous donor of the generous gift made one request—that residents of JCFS-supported integrated community living homes use the funds to purchase gifts for others.

JCFS has long been a trusted resource for Skokie Public Library patrons. In turn, the library has served as such a dedicated collaborator to JCFS that the agency named the library its 2025 Community Partner of the Year.

Alliance Ground International (AGI) has been a strong employer partner to HIAS Immigration & Citizenship, providing cargo, shipping and receiving warehouse positions to candidates—regardless of their English proficiency.

JCFS Occupational Therapist Ari Buslovich is celebrating the small victories of two of the young children she supports at Integrated Pediatric Therapies.