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July 29, 2005
Changes ahead for JFSA
Plans for more specialized services, new locations.
KATHARINE HAMER EDITOR
A restructuring at the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) will
mean some changes to the organization's counselling program, according
to executive director Joseph Kahn-Tietz.
The move is the final part of a strategic planning review that began
five years ago. Kahn-Tietz told the Independent that the
counselling department was the last to undergo changes. JFSA's three
full-time counsellors have been given notice and invited to reapply
for positions with the agency once a director of counselling is
in place.
Kahn-Tietz noted that JFSA was currently not able to match the counselling
offered by other agencies of a similar size and structure. The agency
is hoping to offer more specialized counselling, such as early childhood
education or divorce counsellors. He said that JFSA is also looking
at "satelliting" some services, perhaps using synagogue
space in suburbs such as Richmond, Coquitlam and the North Shore.
Kahn-Tietz said this would allow more clients to regularly use JFSA
services that would cater to their specific needs and offer the
convenience of a location closer to home. He said there were no
performance issues with the existing counsellors, but added that
"right now, we're operating on a generalist model" of
counselling that was not adequately serving the community's needs.
Currently, all three counsellors remain at the JFSA offices on West
Broadway. Kahn-Tietz said some of them may depart in advance of
their contracts expiring – but the agency has contingency plans
in place to ensure continuity of service for clients. The counsellors
have also been informed that they can take their current clients
with them if they leave the agency.
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