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Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service (New York, N.Y.) Records

 Collection
Identifier: I-8

Scope and Content Note

The material in the collection spans not only the period of the TBJCS existence, but addresses its creation and legacy. Material extensively explores the reasons for its founding, with particular focus on the Jewish social work community's need for individuals with post-graduate, specifically Jewish, training. Throughout the collection, the TBJCS’s interactions with other organizations are evident. Through correspondence, reports, minutes and publicity files, the collection addresses the state of Jewish communal service in the late 1940s.

The collection also includes extensive curriculum materials, both on the overall course and for individual classes. The material includes curricula, syllabi, lecture outlines, student records (many of which are restricted), and evaluation materials (for students and for the course). The courses themselves cover diverse topics including American Jewish history and culture, Jewish agencies, non-profit administration, social welfare, and fund raising.

Dates

  • Creation: undated, 1941-1956, 1961

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.

Use Restrictions

No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.

For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org

Historical Note

The Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service trained professional level social workers for positions in Jewish welfare agencies, 1947-1951. Five agencies collaborated to initially create the TBJCS: the American Association for Jewish Education, the National Community Relations Advisory Council, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.

During its tenure, it focused on training experienced social workers with degrees in said field to advance their careers in Jewish agencies. Students split their time between classroom work (over two summers) and a field assignment, usually at the agency that had sponsored their entrance to the school. Costs were subsidized by the agencies that recommended students (generally from among their employees), and from other contributors. It also ran a number of shorter institutes and seminars for Jewish social workers. However, reduced funding from charitable organizations forced the TBJCS to close in 1951.

Extent

7 Linear Feet (14 manuscript boxes)

Abstract

The Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service trained professional social workers and students for positions in Jewish welfare agencies, 1947-1951. The collection includes correspondence, reports, minutes, and publicity files. It also includes materials on the course, including: curricula, syllabi, lecture outlines, student records (some restricted), and evaluation materials.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 13 series as follows:

  1. Series I: Historical Documentation, Early Organizational Materials, and Correspondence, 1944-1951
  2. Series II: Minutes, 1945-1951
  3. Series III: Financial Records, 1947-1951
  4. Series IV: Publicity Records, 1947-1949
  5. Series V: Committees and Annual Meeting, 1946-1951
  6. Series VI: Reports on Field Trips, 1848-1951
  7. Series VII: Special Programs, 1948-1951
  8. Subseries A: In-service Institutes, 1984-1951
  9. Subseries B: Conferences and Institutes, 1948-1951
  10. Series VIII: Inter-Organizational Relations, 1946-1952
  11. Series IX: Student Records, 1947-1951, 1961
  12. Series X: Courses, 1947-1951
  13. Subseries A: Basic Courses, 1947-1951
  14. Subseries B: Curriculum; Class of 1947-1948, 1947-1948
  15. Subseries C: Curriculum; Class of 1948-1949, 1948-1949
  16. Subseries D: Curriculum; Class of 1949-1950, 1948-1950
  17. Subseries E: Curriculum and Proposals; for 1950-1951, 1949-1951
  18. Series XI: The Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service: A Report Prepared Under the Auspices of the Continuing Committee of the Board of Trustees of the TBJCS by Michael Freund, 1956
  19. Series XII: Seminars for Jewish Social Work Practitioners in New York Agencies, 1947-1950
  20. Series XIII: Supplementary Materials from the National Jewish Welfare Board, 1941-1951, 1955

Physical Location

Located in AJHS New York, NY

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information for primary collection is unknown. The final series was received from the National Jewish Welfare Board in 1969.

Title
Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service, undated, 1941-1956, 1961   I-8
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Christine McEvilly
Date
© 2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Revision Statements

  • May, December 2020: EHyman: post-ASpace migration cleanup.

Repository Details

Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States