From Our CEO
Update on FEGS: Transferring Services
March 26th, 2015

This week, in another major step to ensure continuity of care for FEGS’s clients, we identified new homes for all UJA-Federation of New York targeted grant programs at FEGS, currently receiving almost $2 million.

The programs being transferred provide critical services to the Jewish community. (A complete list of the programs being transferred can be found here.) They include outreach to at-risk youth, resettlement for immigrants, employment training, and social work services offered in synagogues and day schools. A number of these programs were conceived and developed by UJA-Federation to meet pressing communal needs, and are widely recognized for their groundbreaking approach.

Just two examples of these programs:

  • Created more than 20 years ago, UJA-Federation’s Community Trust for Disabled Adults helps families ensure a dignified quality of life for loved ones with disabilities. While similar trusts existed, we were among the first to add the human-service component, offering a personal advocate who works closely with the trust beneficiary to ensure he or she receives the appropriate care and support. UJA-Federation will continue to administer the financial management of the trust; the advocacy work will transfer from FEGS to the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (JBFCS).
  • Seven years ago, at the height of the economic downturn, when it was clear that people who had never before needed communal support were desperately hurting, UJA-Federation created Connect to Care. This program delivers a broad array of services — financial, employment, legal, psychological, and spiritual — at multiple locations. FEGS has led the employment services piece of the program, which will now be managed by Educational Alliance serving Manhattan, Westchester Jewish Community Services serving Westchester, and the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center serving Nassau and Queens.

UJA-Federation staff and lay leaders worked tirelessly to match each program with the appropriate agency. We are confident that the agencies assuming the programs are the best suited to lead us forward, and we will work closely with them to maximize their success.

More fundamentally, we are proud and grateful to have an excellent network of agencies stepping up to carry on our essential work.

If you have any questions about finding a program formerly at FEGS, please contact J-1-1, UJA-Federation’s Information & Referral Center, at 877-852-6951, or e-mail .