Great changes have occurred in the occupational character of the American Jewish population necessitating changes in the work of Jewish social welfare agencies, Maurice Taylor, of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh, told the second general session of the five-day joint conference of the National Conference of Jewish Social Welfare, the National Association of Jewish Center Workers and the National Council for Jewish Education, being held at the Hotel Statler here.
Mr. Taylor also stressed the fact that Jews are moving away from old population centers and that relocation of Jewish agencies and institutions is essential. He also pointed out that as a result of falling birth and mortality rates the Jewish community is becoming an older group, on the average, requiring a greater emphasis on adult education and programs.
Findings of surveys conducted by the three agencies represented here during the past two years in 21 cities show that Jewish social welfare, center and educational programs must be changed to fit new needs, the delegates were told by Harold Silver of the Jewish Social Service Bureau of Detroit. This situation also exists among the non-Jewish communities, he said. Among the facts brought out by the survey are that juvenile delinquency has increased less among Jewish youths than the rest of the population; that aid to refugees has sharply decreased and that social and emotional problems have increased among family groups although their financial problems have increased.
LACK OF PERSONNEL IN JEWISH HEALTH AGENCIES REPORTED
“The greatest problem facing our social welfare agencies is lack of personnel,” Mr. Silver said. “The situation is particularly grave for the health agencies. Mt. Binai hospital of Cleveland, for instance, reporting that it lost 45 percent of its doctor and nurses.
Undertaken primarily as a guide to Jewish community planning, the survey, it has pointed out, has value for all social workers in America, since in the main it was ?ound that the Jewish group follows the pattern set by the general community. The 21 ?ities studied in the survey are: Cleveland; Dayton; Detroit; Duluth; Elizabeth, N.J.; ?ndianapolis; Manchester, N.H.; Minneapolis; New Haven; Newark; N.J.; Philadelphia; ?ittsburgh; Portland; Oregon; Providence; Rochester; St. Louis; San Francisco; Spring-?ield, Mass.; Stamford; Toronto and Washington.
Miriam Ephraim of the YMHA and the YWHA in Pittsburgh told the conference that the chief job of the Jewish centers now is planning programs for “dateless” young women between 18 and 30 and young men who have been rejected by the armed forces.
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