Ever-Rolling
DYNAMIC
CAR CARE
A Lam_
Federation teams are playing a
few steps ahead of the game.
perfect
gift...
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
S
ometimes you've got to roll
with the punches, though
generally, it's better to an-
ticipate the blows and take
off in a safer direction.
The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit is priming
itself for the latter track. To
avoid mishaps of the past, it has
spearheaded a Comprehensive
Priority-Setting Process (CPSP)
aimed at gauging community
needs beyond the year 2000.
"I'm hoping that out of this
will come some evolutionary
changes in how the Jewish com-
munity delivers its services,"
says Mark Schlussel, , CPSP
chair. "If there's a problem, our
goal is to deal with it before it
becomes a crisis."
No longer does Federation
want to be re-active, communi-
ty leaders say. They consider the
failure of Borman Hall nursing
home, the closure of UHS Trans-
portation and financial woes at
the Jewish Community Center
partly symptomatic of a system
that has not been monitored
closely enough.
"This does help
focus new dollars in
new directions."
—Joan Strauss
Federation leaders say the
CPSP offers a more pro-active
approach. It involves seven
teams, each committed to study-
ing different missions within
metro Detroit's Jewish commu-
nity of 96,000.
These missions include pro-
grams targeted at the basic
health and physical well-being
of local Jews; ongoing support
for Jewish families and individ-
uals; emergency assistance and
intervention for Jews in crisis;
community development; reli-
gious and cultural life; informal
Jewish education; and formal
Jewish education.
The teams, in fact-finding
mode for the first part of 1996,
will consult experts in the Jew-
ish and general communities.
Members will ask questions in-
cluding: What is the need for
Jewish hospice care? How many
people need adult day care? Is
there a need for a program
aimed at preserving Yiddish?
What is the need for outreach to
the unaffiliated?
Afterward, team members
will rank the severity of specif-
ic needs on a scale from 1 (little
need) to 7 (great need). A second
phase of the CPSP involves ask-
ing if Federation, itself, has a re-
sponsibility to meet those needs.
Answers will be ranked on a
similar 1-7 scale.
"I can't tell you which way
things are going to go, but I
think this is going to be done in
a thoughtful manner," says Ben
Rosenthal, captain of the Basic
Health and Physical Well-Being
team.
Mr. Rosenthal and his team-
mates are looking into how ef-
fectively the Jewish community
runs its congregate living and
group homes, employment as-
sistance, vocational counseling,
AIDS-related services and oth-
er programs.
His team, like the others, will
convene at least seven times be-
fore the end of March, when it
will deliver its findings to Fed-
eration's executive committee.
Federation can respond in
several ways. It might decide to
give more or less money to a cer-
tain cause. It might elect to es-
tablish an endowment
specifically for people who, for
example, need medication for
HIV or AIDS.
Mr. Schlussel says every se-
vere need doesn't necessarily
warrant more Federation assis-
tance. Some needs might not be
relevant to Federation's mission
of Jewish welfare and continu-
ity. In many cases, other sources
of funding exist, including pri-
vate and public grants.
Long-range planning efforts,
such as the CPSP, are becoming
a trend in Jewish communities
throughout the United States,
says Joan Strauss, associate di-
rector for community planning
at the Council of Jewish Feder-
ations, an umbrella organization
in New York.
"This does help focus new dol-
lars in new directions," she says.
"I think the process is very im-
portant."
Ms. Strauss notes that
changes to priority-setting pro-
tocols have not resulted in dras-
tic overhauls to the system. She
hasn't witnessed a radical gut-
ting and cutting of Federation-
affiliated agencies or their
budgets. However, Ms. Strauss
believes that any re-arranging
of priorities often leaves some
causes strapped for cash and
struggling.
"Especially," she says, "if the
agency is already receiving cuts
from the United Way or govern-
ment." ❑
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