News From Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute--Summer 2012

This edition has an international flavor, with articles on
the Institute's work with the OECD, our professional exchange with the UK's leading Jewish social service organization, and presentations at the United Nations.

Other articles include a look at Israel's health care system and an in-depth discussion of Learning for Success, MJB's innovative method for on-going organizational learning.

Our Research Spotlight examines a new project on screening children for ADHD. We have links to some of our newest data documents on Israel's vulnerable populations, and a review of the annual Gantz Zahler Seminar, which this year focused on adoption and foster care in Israel.

As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Martin Paisner, Chairman, Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute

Prof. Jack Habib, Director, Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute

Israel and the OECD

MJB Contributes to International Dialogue on Social and Economic Policy

In 2010, Israel became a member of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), the world's largest international organization for developed countries.

With a mission to promote policies that improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world, the OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.

For MJB, Israel's OECD membership creates new opportunities to contribute to the international dialogue between Israel and the rest of the world.

Equality and Quality in Israel's Health Care System

Smokler Center Making a Difference

Since 1995, Israel 's universal health care system gives all Israelis a standard basket of health care services, set by the government and provided by one of the four national health plans.

On top of the publicly available health care coverage, a majority of the population purchase some form of supplementary private insurance, which offers more flexibility in choosing a physician and covers additional services outside the standard benefits package.

But universal insurance is not a guarantee for the quality of the services or equality in the access to quality and appropriate care. At MJB's Smokler Center for Health Policy Research, the dual quest for equality and quality in Israel's health care system is a central theme that runs throughout the research program.

The Smokler Center's research on health care disparities has been supported by a grant from Andrea and Michael Dubroff, Massachusetts, USA. The research on health care quality has been supported by the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Charitable Foundation.

Person-Centered Care for the Elderly

MJB Leads Professional Exchange to Jewish Care UK

With the challenges of caring for an aging population at the top of today's social agenda everywhere (see MJB's Research in Action, Issue #1), MJB has developed a shared learning process with Jewish Care, the United Kingdom's largest Jewish social service organization.

In February, senior staff from MJB's Center for Research on Aging, JDC-ESHEL, and our partners from the ministries of Health, Social Affairs, and Senior Citizens, and Israel's Social Security Administration, participated in a study trip to England to visit Jewish Care.

The exchange focused on two critical issues that are becoming more and more acute: care of elderly people living with dementia, and care at the end of life. Through the discussions and site visits, the group gained a new international perspective on how to address some of the most challenging issues facing care for the elderly today.

The professional exchange with Jewish Care has been brought about through the efforts of Martin Paisner, Chairman of the MJB Board.

New MJB Fact Sheets!

The latest facts and figures on key social Issues--in handy 2-page format!

Poverty in Israel

Arab-Israeli Education and Employment

Bedouin in Israel

Disadvantaged Women

"We Started Talking about Success. That was our Turning Point"

How MJB's Unit for Learning from Success is Transforming Organizations

If you've ever worked in an organization, you'll be familiar with the kinds of bureaucratic structures that can get in the way of making improvements: performance reviews that set artificial goals, employee assessments that focus only on problems, or turf protection among departments not wanting to share good ideas for fear of having others get credit for the success.

At the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute's Unit for Learning from Success and Ongoing Collaborative Learning in Human Services, they offer an alternative: an innovative model of collaborative, on-going organizational learning based on learning from successful practices, known in short form as "Learning from Success."

The Unit for Learning from Success and Ongoing Collaborative Learning in Human Services has received on-going support from the Marshall Weinberg Fund for Professional Collaboration and Development.

MJB Represents Israel at UN Forum on Adolescents and Youth

Miriam Cohen-Navot, Director of the Engelberg Center for Children and Youth, represented Israel at the United Nations' Commission on Population and Development's 45th Session, in April.

The session was dedicated to Adolescents and Youth, and studied a wide range of topics regarding the well-being, health, education, and preparation for employment of young people around the world.

This important gathering received unprecedented attention and attendance this year, including some 500 representatives from civil society organizations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the gathering a "one-in-a-generation chance to advance progress on the Millennium Development Goals," referring to the eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.

Cohen-Navot attended as the professional expert of the Israeli UN delegation, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She presented twice before the full gathering, first sharing Israel's innovative experiences in developing programs for children and youth at risk and second discussing efforts to expand educational and employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

The Institute's work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the UN is sponsored by the Marshall Weinberg Fund for Professional Collaboration and Development.

Gantz Zahler Seminar on Child Welfare:

Adoption and Foster Care in Israel

In Israel, the rate of children and youth unable to grow up in their birth families who are given up for adoption is much lower than in other western countries. This, despite widespread agreement that, for most children, adoption is a better long-term response than foster or residential care because it offers a better promise of a permanent home.

In recent years, the Adoption Service at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services and JDC-Ashalim have initiated a joint program to expand opportunities for adoption to reduce the reliance on foster or residential care. Among the models being explored are permanent adoption by foster families, also known as "fost-adoption."

On July 11, over 100 professionals working in foster care and adoption participated in the annual Gantz Zahler Seminar on Child Welfare, to discuss recent MJB studies designed to enhance these new programmatic initiatives to expand adoption.

The Institute's Gantz Zahler Seminars on Child Welfare are supported by MJB Committee member Karen Gantz Zahler and her family, and the research on adoption of children at risk was undertaken with the support of MJB Committee member Annie Sandler.

Research Spotlight:

Screening Children for ADHD in Jerusalem's Schools

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects as many as 5 percent of all elementary school children, yet many parents of preschool and school-age children with symptoms of ADHD don't pursue diagnoses.

MJB's Center for Research on Disabilities, together with Prof. Asher Or-Noy of the Hebrew University Medical School, are undertaking a large-scale study to assess the effects of early screening among first- and second-grade students in Jerusalem.

This project is supported by the Institute's Mandell Berman Fund for Research on Children with Disabilities.

Join our mailing list!