The Honorable Ronald E. Richter, former Commissioner of New York City's Administration for Children's Services, has been chosen by the Board of Trustees of Jewish Child Care Association as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Currently a New York State Family Court Judge, Mr. Richter brings more than two decades of experience in child and family services and is highly regarded in the field. He will assume his responsibilities on May 18, 2015. He succeeds CEO Richard Altman who is retiring after 35 years of devoted service to JCCA and a total of 45 years in child and family services.
Peter Hauspurg, President of JCCA's Board of Trustees, said, "Ron Richter brings great expertise to this position and is an innovative and strategic thinker. He has a deep commitment to improving the lives of the vulnerable children and families we serve."



According to Mr. Richter, "I have worked with Richard Altman and JCCA for 13 years and respect their reputation for excellence. JCCA is an organization that puts young people first, taking some of the toughest cases and transforming lives. I want to build on that reputation and help shape city, state and federal policy on such critical issues as managed care, mental health and best practices for children and family services."



In the past 12 years, the number of JCCA programs has doubled to 40, the budget has doubled to $110 million, the staff has doubled to 1,400 and JCCA helps more than 16,000 children and families annually. JCCA serves vulnerable children of all backgrounds. Programs include foster care, mental health and preventive services, residential treatment, services to recent immigrants, education and early childhood services, and services to children with special needs. Its work is motivated by tikkun olam - the value in Jewish tradition that calls upon all of us to repair the world.

by Mary Blake

Although the economy is starting to bounce back, searching for a job is still not easy, especially if you have a disability or any barrier to employment. But there are things that you can do to improve your chances of getting a job.
 
Here are a few tips to help you in your job search:
 
Get help - We all need a helping hand from time to time and luckily there are many resources, both public and private, that can be of assistance.  Click here for a few local resources and to read the entire blog.

Jewish Family & Children's Service of East Bay is proud to launch a new support group for people providing care for an elderly family member or friend. Facilitated by Nancy Rothschild, LMFT, the first meeting of the Caregiver Support Group will be on Thursday, April 2, with subsequent meetings on the first and third Thursdays of the month.

Caregiving can be an engrossing and stressful experience. In this twice monthly group, we'll have the opportunity to get to know and support each other while learning: how to care for yourself while caring for another; how to manage stress and anxiety; how to establish realistic goals and expectations; and where to turn in the community for help. Learn more here. 

Volunteers from Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services will be participating in International Good Deeds Day, this Sunday, March 15th.



Participants will be delivering Passover items to clients of the Jacobson Family Food Pantry, a program of JFS, which serves residents in need in the Boca Raton, Highland Beach and Delray Beach areas.  The March 15th effort alone is expected to impact over 100 clients. The balance of deliveries to the remainder of Food Pantry clients will be made by JFS over the next 1-2 weeks.  The food purchase and bagging of over 400 units have been completed and was donated by Addison Reserve Country Club.   Event Co-Chairs for the Good Deeds Day event are Lisa Goodman, Patti Jacobs and Robin Siegal.