Reorganization of Federation Seen As Result of Report on Survey of Omaha’s Jewry

Reorganization of the Jewish Welfare Federation to include all Jewish organizations, the consolidating of the planning of community activities, and an increased staff for Jewish social work, were the outstanding recommendations made before a committee of over 100 citizens, by Samuel Goldsmith, Director of the Bureau for Jewish Social Research of New York, in making his report of the communal survey, which has been in preparation here for several months.

The survey recommends that divisions of family case work, child care, medical service, education and recreation, and Jewish education be established. This plan would require a reorganization of the budget, of which the Omaha Community Chest would be asked to support the work for family welfare, child care and delinquency, medical service and about half of the budget for education and recreation, which is the work of the Jewish Community Center. This would be the same amount that the Chest now gives. The remainder of the Community Center budget would be supplied by membership dues, leaving $25,000 to be raised annually in a Jewish Welfare Fund, which would include expenditures in behalf of deficits incurred in Jewish education, subventions to national organizations and other local expenditures which could not be met by the Community Chest. The total budget would be about $80,000, and would imply a redistribution of income but no increase.

The survey recommended the organization of a Council of Jewish Education to coordinate all efforts at Jewish education in the city, and the engaging of a Director of Jewish education to head this division. Under this head, also, the report suggests that the City Talmud Torah be moved into the Community Center and reorganized along modern methods. About 37 per cent of the Jewish children of Omaha are now receiving Jewish education.

In the field of child care, the report recommends that the Federation engage a worker to supervise family case work and to give special attention to child welfare and the development of a system of foster homes.

The survey gives the Jewish population of Omaha as 10,000 and the number of Jewish school children as 1700. The Jewish Community Center is well located in regard to the Jewish population, according to the report, since a large proportion of the Jewish children are living within easy distance of the building. The survey reflects also the prevailing tendency in all cities, of the Jews to be represented by a larger ratio of Jewish children in the high schools than white children in general in these schools.

The Bureau recommends the organization of a Federation of Jewish women’s organizations, which would undertake the expansion of Jewish work.

The survey has praise for the recent development of Omaha’s community work, particularly the strides which have been made in family case work.