Support to families caring for children with disabilities and special needs.

Our respite services use a supportive, nurturing and therapeutic approach, combined with fun, social and recreational activities, while providing a well-deserved break for parents.

Group Respite

This offers a fun, playful afternoon where children with intellectual/developmental disabilities can participate in a variety of social and recreational activities in a group setting. Parents and caregivers can enjoy a well-deserved break knowing that their child is engaged and supported by caring and dedicated respite workers. Group Respite is offered at our West Rogers Park location. 

Voucher Respite

A stipend for parents/caregivers of a child or adult with intellectual/developmental disabilities can be used toward a respite worker that the family hires and pays to provide support, or to help pay for special recreational programs for the person with a disability. Vouchers are provided in the form of reimbursement to the parent/caregiver.

To learn more about JCFS Respite services, contact Amy Simmons, QIDP at 773.765.3135.

JCFS Chicago is part of the following insurance networks:

• BCBS Network (not HMO)
• BCBS CHOICE Plans (not HMO)
• Aetna Network - includes HMO plans
• Aetna Choice - includes HMO plans
• Ambetter (commercial plan) - includes HMO plans
• Humana PPO Network
• United Healthcare - includes HMO plans (accepted by some JCFS providers; please inquire about this plan)

JCFS Chicago also accepts Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicaid (in-network; coverage is not available for psychological testing and assessment):

• BCBS Network
• Meridian
• DHS
• Molina
• Aetna Better Health
• County Care
• YouthCare

Medicare:

• Community Care Alliance

IPT Services:
Commercial Insurance (in network):

• BCBS Network
• BCBS CHOICE Plans
• Aetna Network (benefits moved to Optum health)
• United Healthcare  
• Humana PPO Network

Direct insurance billing may be available for other insurance companies after verification of coverage has been completed. Insurance reimbursement is based on eligible services of the client’s benefit plan.

Get Help

For clients of the Integrated Pediatric Therapies (IPT) program email our insurance specialist, Lena Barshak.

Response for Teens helps educate parents who might be having difficulty with a child’s coming out process, or just wants to meet others parents who have experienced what you’re going through and can offer first-hand advice.

Alliance is Response for Teens’ annual summer program for LGBTQ+ teens and allies. It’s a great way to have fun with friends and meet other LGBTQ high schoolers in the area.

Parent & Family Connection is a support and education group for Jewish parents and family members of LGBTQ youth and young adults. Our program consists of monthly meetings, a peer mentoring program and community events. New members are always welcome.

Peer Support 
If you are having difficulty with your child’s coming out process, or would just like to speak individually with another parent who has experienced what you’re experiencing and can offer first-hand advice, we’d like to connect you with a trained peer volunteer through our Parent & Family Connection program! 

We have responded to the needs of both children and parents since 1955.  Our family-centered approach encourages children to reach their potential while promoting a strong parent-child relationship. Meet our team of clinical professionals.

We offer a continuum of therapeutic and preventative services for children and families, along with early childhood mental health consultation and training for professionals.

• Consultation and Training
• Family and Child Counseling
• Groups for Children and Families

For more information, please call 773.765.3100

Current Groups

For meeting times, locations and dates, please check the calendar.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess, diagnose and treat the various skills needed for communication. These include:

• Articulation and phonology
• Auditory processing
• Cognition
• Executive functioning skills
• Fluency
• Language expression—Verbal and augmentative/alternative
• Oral motor movement
• Pragmatic-social language skills
• Reading and spelling
• Writing

IPT speech-language pathologists also address feeding and swallowing concerns including:

• Oral-Motor Skills
• Sensory Aversion
• Medical Complex Feeding needs including decreasing feeding tube dependency

Our SLPs are known for working together with the family to develop dynamic and functional goals for a child to be successful. We believe that helping a family to communicate with their child is just as important as giving a child vocabulary and teaching them sentence structures. Let our therapists support your child throughout their development in the areas of language development, reading and comprehension, social skills and feeding. We will work with your doctor, school and other therapists to generalize skills across your child’s natural environments. Meet our team of speech/language and occupational professionals.

For more information or to make an appointment, please email ipi@jcfs.org or call 847.412.4379.

Additional Resources:

American Speech-Language Hearing Association

Identify The Signs of Communication Disorders

Through play, children develop motor coordination, social skills, emotional regulation, as well as learn how to process all of the sensory input in their environment.

Occupational therapists evaluate children in four primary areas to determine a delay or difficulty in skills: cognitive or our thinking processes (cause/effect, problem-solving, reasoning), sensory processing, behavioral development and motor skills.

Occupational therapy works with children on their ability to perform everyday activities, such as tying shoes and handwriting, motor skills, as well as individual sensory needs, as this video demonstrates.

For additional information or to ask about making an appointment, please email ipi@jcfs.org or call 847.412.4379.

Whether you are honoring the memory of a loved one, celebrating a new addition to your family or marking the joyful rite of passage of B'nai Mitzvah, you can commemorate these special occasions with a tribute to JCFS Chicago. Tribute cards are also a thoughtful and caring gift for everyone on your list. 

Every tribute card purchased provides help and healing care for the thousands of children, adults, couples and families who rely on JCFS Chicago for everything from counseling, pediatric therapies, special education, social and recreational opportunities, community education, services for people with disabilities and much, much more.