Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minneapolis celebrates centennial with Gail Dorman speaking.

Remarks to JFCS Centennial Annual Meeting
by Gail Dorfman, Hennepin County Commissioner

June 10, 2010

One hundred years of service! It's hard to get your arms around the enormity of what that has meant to this community. The JFCS 2009 annual report, a wonderful chronicle, tells the story of the confluence of American history and the growth and development of JFCS, from serving 345 families in 1910 to the more than 15,000 families that will be touched by JFCS this year.

It's a history of resettling waves of immigrants and refugees; serving the poor, the elderly, and the disabled; providing educational, vocational, medical, and financial services; helping people access food, shelter, and jobs; counseling people who struggle; making sure the children of the community are protected, educated, and cared for; and promoting equality.

Now, most non-profit agencies take on just one or two of these challenges, but JFCS has responded holistically to people's evolving needs for a century, not with a hand-out, but with a hand-up, offered with dignity and respect, and as a true partner, the highest form of tzedaka. JFCS has given people hope, restored self-esteem, and shared with people the tools they need to succeed. The JFCS journey is one of recognizing and responding to community needs, with innovation and expertise, and with a spirit that reflects the values of our faith.

What I've always loved about JFCS is that we're a Jewish organization that's not just by and for the Jewish community, but an organization that embraces the whole community. And that the roots of that service are based in our own history as a people and in our belief that we shall not turn away the stranger, but instead will see the stranger and respond with kindness and decency. When God called out to Abraham to begin his journey, the destination was uncertain, but Abraham answered immediately with a single word, "hineni", here I am. For 100 years, JFCS has been here for the Twin Cities community, guiding individuals and families in need, never afraid to embark on this journey, always answering with a quiet determination, we are here.

The story of JFCS is also one of leadership...blessed by a supportive community; a volunteer base second to none; talented and experienced staff; board members who are community leaders in their own right and committed to JFCS; and CEO's who have given nearly their whole careers to this agency.

The past three CEO's have each served decades on the staff and at the helm of this organization, and Judy is now carrying on in this tradition of excellence as the first woman CEO. Though I'm not sure anyone will ever surpass Jerry's more than four decades of service to this organization.

While JFCS never feared the journey, there was the ever present challenge of how to pay for it. So as we take stock of the past and celebrate 100 years of achievement, we also look to the future, considering the tenuous times in which we live, growing community needs, and the public service environment in which JFCS operates. Today in America, more than 37 million families - 1 in 8 Americans - live in poverty. More than 13 million households do not have enough food to feed their families. The employment rate remains near double digits, and homelessness is on the rise. More than one million children will be confirmed this year as having been abused or neglected, and 1 in 6 American adults have no health insurance.

The challenge we face, at least for the near term, is how to do more with less, and how to make certain that the JFCS doors remain open during these difficult times, because they must.

And I have no doubt that they will, because this is an agency that proves day in and day out that you know what you're doing, that you're not just counting the number of people who come through those doors, but actually making a difference, improving the lives of the people who are served and doing so in a cost-effective way.

We know that the best way to reduce costs is to intervene early, to prevent a crisis whenever possible. For example, we know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it in the first place. We've found that it costs $700 on average to prevent someone at-risk from losing their housing. On the other hand, if they become homeless, it costs $7000 on average to get them out of shelter and back into stable housing. Similarly, when looking at ways to reduce health care costs, we know that the most effective means is to reward people for good health, working to promote healthy behaviors and prevent disease in the first place. And we know that opening access to quality child care and good preschool programs is the best way to prepare kids for success in kindergarten and beyond. JFCS knows this and lives it every day - focusing on prevention and early intervention, helping families whenever you can to avoid a crisis. This is good for individuals and families, and good for our community and taxpayers as well. By working to prevent the need for more costly interventions, JFCS saves tax dollars and is a great partner to government in providing safety net services.

So you might think that the least that we in government could do would be to get out of the way and let good agencies like JFCS do their work. But too often government, federal, state, and local gets in the way with complicated and ever-changing rules and regulations, unnecessary and duplicative audits, administrative burdens, and lots of red tape. And while our intentions may be good - to make sure that we get what we pay for and that we're good stewards of public dollars - the result is often that we make it harder to get the outcomes that we're all looking for. If we're going to be successful going forward in these difficult times with greater numbers of people to serve and few resources to serve them with, then government will have to find a way to back off some, streamline systems, simplify eligibility and procedures, reduce duplication, and allow for creativity. We need a better balance between oversight and flexibility, so you all can do your jobs. We should do everything we can to support the work that JFCS is doing and not put up roadblocks and administrative hurdles that get in the way of serving your clients. I don't have a crystal ball to predict what the future of human services will be, but I know that government cannot go it alone. Those of us in government who care about preserving the social safety net and building strong and healthy communities need good partners like JFCS.

Jerry Waldman described the 100-year journey of JFCS this way. He said, "We've strengthened the community, life by life, one by one." Our community is counting on JFCS and all of you to continue that good work now and 100 years from now. Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of celebrating the end of the first century and the beginning of the next one for JFCS.