FOCUS
A NswERLADY
Carol Kaczander is building a
disabilities component into the
Jewish information Service.
RONELLE GRIER
Special to The Jewish News
Photo by Glenn Triest
W
hen Carol Kaczan-
der became the
head of the Jewish
Information Service, JIS add-
ed more than a new director.
It added a new dimension,
too.
Since 1985, JIS staffers
have answered 14,000
telephone inquiries from a
database of more than 2,000
resources. The questions
range from how to make
kreplach to where to find a
local Jewish farmers' associa-
tion. JIS has an answer for
everyone.
Now, JIS is in the process of
expanding that database to
include a comprehensive
directory of resources for peo-
ple with disabilities and their
families. According to Mrs.
Kaczander, this new database
will contain several hundred
sources of information for peo-
ple with special needs.
This was added as a result
of the recently completed
report by the Task Force on
Services for Persons with
Disabilities, sponsored by the
Jewish Welfare Federation of
Detroit.
The task force showed that
people with disabilities, and
their family members, found
it difficult to obtain needed
services because of a lack of
centralized information. The
Jewish Information Service
was a natural place for such
a database. After the death of
former JIS director Norma
Carol Kaczander: Informing and advocating.
Silver, the search began for a
new director who would
undertake this project.
According to Mrs. Kac-
zander, "Federation and I
found each other. I saw this as
an opportunity for the Jewish
community to open its arms
to all Jews, regardless of han-
dicap," she said.
Mrs. Kaczander is no
stranger to working with peo-
ple who have special needs.
For several years she worked
at the Einstein Center in Oak
Park, a school for children
with severe disabilities,
where she coordinated a peer
assistance program and also
helped families connect with
the various community ser-
vices available to them.
There she became more
aware of the enormous needs
of these families, a need that
still exists today, according
to the task force study.
Prior to joining JIS, she work-
ed as Outreach Coordin'ator
at MetroDetroit Hillel Foun-
dation.
Mrs. Kaczander and her
husband Rick, who live in
Oak Park, are the parents of
two sons, Eric, 13, and Robbie,
11. Robbie was born with
severe mental and physical
impairments that affect every
aspect of his functioning.
Mrs. Kaczander has been an
advocate for people with han-
dicaps because of her son, and
she has expanded this work
in her professional capacity.
She is involved in advocacy
groups, including the
Oakland County Mental
Health Coalition and the
Oakland County Interagency
Coordinating Council, and
has also made several con-
tacts with Michigan
legislators regarding the
special needs community.
"Now, I'm not just ad-
vocating for Robbie, I'm ad-
vocating for everybody," she
said.
According to Mrs. Kac-
zander, the heart of JIS is a
group of "14 unbelievable
volunteers," who provide
"that caring voice at the
other end of the phone."
The volunteer staff, as well
as the door-to-door transpor-
tation service for the elderly,
are coordinated by JIS staff
member Barbara Lefton. The
transportation service, which
is funded through the Jewish
Community Center, buses
senior citizens to the Jimmy
Prentis Morris facility in Oak
Park.
It is JIS policy- to answer
every caller's question, even if
that answer is not immediate-
ly available. "If we don't
know, we'll find out," said
Mrs. Kaczander. "Sometimes
it takes 10 minutes, some-
times it takes a few days, but
we always call back."
JIS is non-sectarian in the
sense that every caller's ques-
tion is answered, regardless of
religion. The JIS database in-
cludes both Jewish and
secular resources.
"Our first question is
always, 'May I help you?' "
said Mrs. Kaczander.
Another recent addition to
JIS is a TDD (Telecommuni-
cations Device for the Deaf),
which will allow people with
hearing impairments to com-
municate with the JIS staff.
JIS representatives will also
use the TDD as a relay
system for people who need to
make contact with other
agencies.
For Soviet families new to
the Detroit area, a bi-lingual
JIS volunteer is available to
provide translations and
assist in communications
with other agencies.
Mrs. Kaczander intends to
work closely with other
organizations such as JEFF
(Jewish Experiences for
Families) and Keshet, a group
for Jewish parents of children
with special needs, to develop
programs that will help in-
tegrate the community as a
whole.
She would also like people
to remember that "not
everyone walks upright, has
speech, or functions on the
cognitive level of the general
community.
"These things don't just
happen to other people," she
said. "It could be you, and
how would you like to be
treated?"
"We're very thrilled to have
Carol in this job," said Dulcie
Rosenfeld, Chairperson of the
Jewish Welfare Federation
Lay Advisory Committee.
"She's full of vim and vigor —
I think we've made a wise .
choice."
❑
To contact the Jewish
Information Service, call
967-HELP (voice); or
967-0460 (TDD).
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
91