Jewish Family Service of New Haven, Inc.

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Jewish Family Service of New Haven, Inc., started in 1881, is a non-sectarian, fully licensed and accredited social service agency and outpatient mental health clinic.  JFS offers a variety of quality services including: Individual, Family and Child Counseling, Therapeutic and Medically Complex Foster Care and Adoption, Domestic and Inter-country Adoption, Adoption Assistance Services, Children’s Respite Services, Older Adult Services, Holocaust Survivors Services, Food Assistance, Court Ordered Parent Education, Focus on Kids Adult Counseling and Employment Transition Services.  All JFS programs and services are available on a non-discriminatory basis, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation.  Most insurance is accepted and no one is turned away from our counseling programs because of inability to pay.

MISSION:  Jewish Family Service of New Haven, Inc. improves the quality of life for families and individuals of all ages through an integrated program of social services in accordance with basic Jewish values and precepts.

JFS can help with:

  • Adoption (Domestic and Intercountry) - JFS assists both birth parents and adoptive parents by finding homes for local and international infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and older children.
     
  • Adoption Assistance Program - Funded by a grant from the University of Connecticut Health Center, this program offers brief counseling and referral services for all adoptive families, regardless of how recent or how long ago the adoption took place.
     
  • Adults with Developmental Disabilities - The Shalom Group offers Jewish adults with developmental disabilities educational enrichment and social interaction with other adults through a series of events celebrating the Jewish holidays.
     
  • Children’s Respite Program - This program provides individualized respite care to vulnerable and at-risk children away from the home environment.  Respite workers visit the homes, work one-on-one with the children and introduce them to cultural, educational and physical activities.
     
  • Counseling and Mental Health - Our licensed counseling and mental health program serves individuals, couples, families, children and groups with consultations, assessments and counseling sessions.
     
  • Empowering People For Success Program (EPS) – This program provides outreach, initial assessment, advocacy, case planning, and case management for families with significant barriers to employment.
     
  • Food Assistance - Our Food Pantry provides emergency, supplemental and holiday food for residents of Greater New Haven who are at or below the poverty level.
     
  • Foster Care and Adoption - JFS offers therapeutic foster care and medically complex foster care for children under the care of the Connecticut Department of Children & Families (DCF).  JFS recruits and trains families and individuals to become foster and adoptive parents, and we provide intensive case management and support to foster and adoptive families.
     
  • Holocaust Survivor Program - This program, funded by the Material Claims Conference, provides emergency and caregiver services to Holocaust Survivors in the Greater New Haven area.
     
  • Permanency Placement Services Program (PPSP) - For children in the care of DCF, we ensure permanency for children through pre-placement planning, recruitment/screening of potential adoptive families, homestudy evaluations of adoptive families, placement planning, post-placement supervision, post-finalization and post adoption services.
     
  • Older Persons/Senior Services - We assist seniors with information and referral, evaluation and assessment, office and in-home counseling, family consultation, case management, and food assistance.
     
  • Volunteer Program - Volunteers are placed in the community as friendly visitors, tutors to children within our foster care program, drivers, food deliverers, food pantry assistance and office help.
  • Yes to Kids Program (Y2K) - JFS helps find permanent homes for children who would otherwise linger in foster care (due to the age of the child, being a part of a sibling group, or having special needs).  JFS recruits, trains and approves families to adopt such children.