Jewish Family and Children's Service of Colorado Case Files

The Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Colorado (JFCS) was created in a response to international, national, and local needs of refugees. The JFCS emerged from two organizations, the National Council of Jewish Women, Denver Section (NCJW), founded in 1893 and the Central Jewish Aid Society of Denver, Colorado, organized in 1915 and incorporated in 1923. Ray David was the first superintendent of the Jewish Aid Society. In 1937, Tillye Levy became a member of the Service to Foreign Born Committee of the NCJW and immediately began organizing resources for Jews who fled the early stages of the Holocaust. The services supplied facilitated the adjustment of the refugees. At Tillye Levy’s request, Isadore Hilb became the first chair of the new Denver Coordinating Committee for Refugees. A. B. Hirshfield was the chair of the job placement committee, Dave Harlem was in charge of creating affidavits, and Surriee Feder Miller was responsible for integrating newcomers into the Denver community. In 1947, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service was created when the boards of the Central Jewish Aid Society and the NCJW committees merged. Sydney Grossman became the newly formed agency’s first president, and Dr. Alfred Neumann, a social worker, became the full-time director. The name was changed to the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Denver in 1954 and became the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Colorado in 1972. The JFCS continued to give relief to the needy and assist refugees in resettling, but also expanded into the field of family and child welfare. The JFCS created the “Denver Plan,” procedures for integrating new residents into the community, which was copied by cities across the United States. The agency hired trained staff to provide service in three areas: family, child, and vocational guidance; service to established residents; and immigrant aid. The agency also handled German reparation money through the Utility Workshop, headed by Mary (Mrs. Sidney) Jacobs. The Utility Workshop produced jobs and services for individuals suffering from emotional or physical handicaps. The services provided by the JFCS continue on through its successor, the Jewish Family Service of Colorado.