The critical shortage of Jewish social workers was underlined here today at the 57th annual meeting of the National Conference of Jewish Communal Service by Dr. Nathan E. Cohen, Associate Dean of the New York School of Social Work. Noting that the prestige of the Jewish communal worker is far less than that of the rabbi, teacher, or traditional professionals in such fields as law and medicine, Dr. Cohen declared;
“The painful facts are that students cannot be persuaded, cajoled, or seduced, even with subsidies, aid and scholarships, into two years of expensive professional training leading to less than a living wage in social work. Fund-raising and public relations positions bring higher remuneration perhaps because they are better understood and accepted. It is the typical pattern that he who brings in money always gets paid more than he who spends it.”
Dr. Maurice Hexter, executive vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, suggested to the 1,200 educators and social workers at the convention that a Jewish school of social work be established jointly by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Yeshiva University. He added that this suggestion was “perhaps utopian.” Roland Baxt, executive director of the Federation Employment Service in New York, was today elected new president of the N.C.J.S.W.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
