Help for organizations and communities responding to and recovering from a crisis

The Jewish Community Emergency Response Team (JCERT) was established in 2002 in the aftermath of 9/11 to respond to mental health needs following a crisis situation. Professionals from across our community, trained in Psychological First Aid and other interventions, work collaboratively to support the community through consultation, resources and in-person interventions.  

JCERT is a program of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, administered by JCFS Chicago, and in partnership The Ark, Associated Talmud Torahs, CJE SeniorLife, Ezra Multi-Service Center,  JCC Chicago, Midwest Refuah Health Center and No Shame on U.   

Get Help 
For more information on JCERT and how it may be helpful to your organization, contact Tia Wallace at 847.568.5100. 

The Professional Training Institute (PTI) offers high-quality professional trainings annually to address timely and relevant issues related to abuse, addiction, grief and loss, mental health, and more. JCFS Chicago offers Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) for social workers, counselors, psychologists, Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professionals (through a partnership with Between Friends), and Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors. All trainings can be tailored to your specific needs.

We offer the following training tracks:

• Therapy and Advanced Therapy Practicum
• Internship in Clinical Psychology
• Diagnostic Practicum
• Post-Doctoral Internship

For over 18 years, JCFS Chicago has been accepting students from affiliated universities in the fields of social work, psychology, special education, speech/language therapy, dance/movement therapy and art therapy. Our diverse services allow for rich learning experiences in foster care, group homes, outpatient counseling, intensive therapeutic services, early intervention and therapeutic special education. We are committed to structuring training experiences that provide professional development for both staff and students. We value trainees from diverse backgrounds and strongly encourage applicants from diverse cultural backgrounds to apply to our program.

All of our trainees become integrated members of the Psychological Services department, attending in-services and training seminars alongside staff members. In addition, our trainees regularly contribute to the agency’s blog and the “Moment for Multicultural Competence” monthly newsletter.

Recipient of the Association of Chicagoland Externship and Practicum Training (ACEPT) 2021 Outstanding Training Site of the Year Award

JCFS Chicago has collaborative relationships with many schools and institutes. In recent years, we have accepted trainees from the following institutions:

• The Chicago School
• National Louis University (Illinois School of Professional Psychology)
• Adler University
• Midwestern University
• Roosevelt University
• Wheaton University
• Loyola College, Maryland
• Baylor University
• Loyola University, Chicago

For over a century, HIAS Immigration & Citizenship has been one of the most respected providers of immigration services in the Chicago metropolitan area. Founded to support Eastern European Jewish immigrants in the early 1900s, the program has expanded over time to address the needs of various refugee and immigrant groups from around the world, regardless of religion, race or national origin. HIAS Immigration & Citizenship was particularly instrumental in the resettlement of Jews from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and in the last 40 years, has assisted over 40,000 immigrants and refugees from the FSU, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Today, as a program of JCFS Chicago, HIAS Immigration & Citizenship is proud to provide an array of comprehensive, cost-effective immigration and citizenship services to hundreds of individuals, helping them transition from strangers in a new land to contributors in their communities to proud American citizens. 

Services include

• Green Card assistance
• Citizenship assistance, including citizenship preparation classes
• Family-based immigration services
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
• Restitution assistance for Holocaust survivors
• Academic scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students

HIAS Immigration & Citizenship's work is fueled by the Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (the repair of the world) and Hachnasat Orchim (welcoming the stranger). HIAS Immigration & Citizenship is the only Jewish provider of immigration services in the Chicagoland area and invites you to join their city and suburb-wide Jewish movement of welcoming.

For more information or to get involved, visit HIAS Immigration & Citizenship, call 312.357.4666 or email Jessica Schaffer, Director.

At Response for Teens (a program of JCFS Chicago), we understand and value the differences between being plugged in and being connected. Teens may be plugged into social networks, online communities and a wide circle of friends whom they text message, but they often choose to connect to a very small group of people.

It’s there, within those connections, that teens trust enough to talk freely about their concerns, feelings and pressures.  

At Response for Teens, teens are accepted and listened to without judgment. Whether they want to talk one-on-one with an understanding staff member or simply hang out, Response exists to support adolescents ages 12 to 24. Teens participating in Response for Teens also can be referred to other JCFS Chicago programs as warranted, such as camps and recreation, therapeutic education, and programs for people with disabilities. 

Response for Teens is a program of JCFS Chicago, a partner in serving our community, supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation.

Since its establishment in 1970, Response for Teens has been a dedicated advocate of strong youth leadership and preventative education. Serving the diverse needs of teenagers and their families in the Jewish and general communities, Response helps adolescents develop skills in communication, decision-making and leadership necessary to deal with life’s challenges.

Staff members instill teens with self-confidence and compassion through education, counseling and sexual health services, which empower adolescents to make healthy life choices.

Get help.

Learn more about Response for Teens programs and services on the Response for Teens website, or call 847.676.0078 to schedule a workshop for your school, synagogue, church or organization.

Preventing and responding to abuse in the Jewish community

JCFS Chicago offers culturally sensitive education and training to increase awareness, prevent and respond to abuse in Jewish homes and communal institutions. 

Partnership for Safer Communities  
Safer Communities promotes interpersonal safety, health and well-being in synagogues, Jewish day schools, Jewish day and overnight camps and other Jewish institutions through education, training, and policy review.

Programs include:  
Safer Synagogues engages congregational leadership in professional training and facilitated discussion sessions to increase their capacity to respond to the needs in their community. Learn more. 

Safer Camps engages Jewish day and overnight camp administration and counselors in training and discussion about establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries, the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, and responding to disclosures or suspicions of abuse and neglect. Learn more.

Safer Schools engages Jewish day school administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and students in education and training about establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries, signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, and responding to disclosures or suspicions of abuse and neglect. Learn more.

Boundaries, Abuse and Supporting Communities Staff Training for administrators, educators, counselors, b’nai mitzvah tutors and other professionals or volunteers that work with children and families.  Topics include establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries, the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect and responding to disclosures or suspicions of abuse and neglect. 

Safer Shabbat 
Synagogues are encouraged to designate one Shabbat a year as  Safer Shabbat, to celebrate the strength within abuse survivors of all ages and circumstances and bring the community together to acknowledge the hardship and inspire empowerment. We have designed a Safer Shabbat Resource Guide with language and prayers focused on abuse prevention and survivor support.  The Guide also includes additional educational material for synagogues to share with congregants via their newsletters and/or website to enhance their Shabbat table discussions and beyond.

To report suspicions or knowledge of child abuse or neglect, call the DCFS Hotline at 1.800.25.ABUSE (1.800.252.2873)  

For more information please contact: 
Bracha Jakofsky, MSW, Abuse Prevention Coordinator & Mental Health Educator, 847.745.5430. 

• Informational conversations with individuals, families, and other loved ones  

• Telephone-based brief assessment 

• Referrals to local and national treatment and support resources 

• Educational presentations about all types of addiction for youth, parents, adults, and seniors  

• The opportunity to hear from Jewish volunteers in recovery 

Opioid Overdose Prevention 

Overdose Prevention and Reversal/Narcan Training 
Chicagoland’s Jewish community has lost many people to opioid overdose. We provide training about how to save a life with Narcan and it couldn’t be easier.  Please read our blog about why Narcan training is for everyone. Contact Beth Fishman PhD, Program Manager of Addiction Services, to schedule this training for your organization. 

Fentanyl Alerts 
Overdose deaths are skyrocketing from the devastating effects of synthetic opioids like fentanyl which are being distributed by bad actors into the black-market drug supply.  Now more than ever, psychoactive drug use can be deadly. These alerts provide more information, and we encourage you to share them widely: 
Community Fentanyl Alert   
Fentanyl Alert for Parents  
Fentanyl Alert for Teens and Young Adults   

Jewish Resources for Recovery 

• List of addiction recovery meetings in Jewish spaces and/or for Jewish participants
• Booklet for incorporating Jewish prayers into 12-Step recovery 
• Why Jewish communal organizations must open their spaces to addiction recovery peer support meetings
• Serenity Shabbat: In Solidarity with Addiction Recovery   
  • On Serenity Shabbat, individuals, families, and congregations throughout Chicagoland celebrate the blessings of addiction recovery. JCFS Chicago has created Serenity Shabbat Guides for synagogues and for the home. 

• High Holiday Recovery Guide 

  • This resource for addiction recovery during the High Holidays offers a variety of observances for Jewish individuals, families, and synagogues at this holiest time of year. 

• Jewish Recovery Holiday programs for Jews in recovery, loved ones and allies 

• Workshops and groups for those in addiction recovery 

• A guided meditation (document and audio file) for support and healing during challenging times. 

Professional Training 

• Helping synagogues and other organizations become safe, welcoming spaces for Jews in recovery and those at-risk  

• Training mental health professionals on evidence-based approaches to recovery 

• Consulting with clinicians serving the Jewish community 

• Training on Jewish cultural competency for treatment providers 

• Consulting with Jewish organizations nationally to develop addiction-related programming 

_{The Jewish Federation's Fund for Innovation in Health (underwritten by the Michael Reese Health Trust), the Albert and Lucille Delighter and Marcella Winston Foundation, a Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, and other generous donors.}

Building families can be challenging.  We provide support, resources, and education for our diverse Jewish community. 

JCFS Chicago is licensed to provide CILA (Community Integrated Living Arrangement) services through DHS (Illinois Department of Human Services). Our consumer-directed CILA model focuses on individual choice and family partnering. Many families and individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities are actively involved with JCFS Chicago planning and facilitating natural connections for individuals who would like to live together. 

JCFS Chicago strives to ensure Jewish individuals with I/DD remain active in the Jewish community. The importance of religious heritage and Jewish life is stressed through the celebration of Jewish holidays and various Jewish gatherings. Those who are not Jewish are also supported to observe their cultural and religious traditions.

First Steps Toward Public Funding Resources

Registering with the Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services (PUNS) database is the first and most important step you and your family can take to receive assistance. To verify eligibility and register, you must meet with a Pre- Admission Screening (PAS) or Independent Service Coordination Agency (ISC). Search the DHS Office Locator for offices near you.

Home-Based Services (HBS), also known as “the waiver," is a part of the Medicaid Children’s Support Waiver and Adults with Developmental Disabilities Waiver. HBS provides a monthly allotment, or budget, that individuals can use to purchase supports and services that will help them live in their homes and engage in their communities.

 JCFS Chicago provides Self-Direction Assistance (SDA), one of the many services that can be purchased through the waiver. Individuals/families who choose JCFS as their SDA provider will be matched with a Self-Direction Assistant, who will provide support in understanding and managing waiver services and assist with managing the monthly budget. The SDA will work with the individual/representative, case manager, and other waiver providers as part of your home-based services team.

For more information on Home-Based Services for children or adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities, including how to apply for services, contact your local ISC agency and inquire about the PUNS list (the database that informs the state of Illinois of those who need or may need waiver services for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities).

For more information on JCFS Chicago SDA services, call 855.275.5237.