22 | MARCH 5 • 2020
O
ver the course of
almost a year, Jewish
Family Service of
Metro Detroit (JFS), JVS
Human Services and Kadima
Mental Health Services have
been in conversation about
the possibility of a merger or
collaboration.
The three organizations
were brought together by
the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit (JFMD)
to talk about the possibility
of collaboration. Both JVS
and JFS are partner organiza-
tions of JFMD.
JFMD President Beverly
Liss said in a statement to the
Jewish News that the talks are
part of “the Collaboratory,”
which is “a facilitated process
in which Jewish Federation
convened a number of social
service agencies to discuss
how they could improve
social delivery.”
Leaders at JVS, JFS and
Kadima said they felt that it
was best to continue to con-
vene after the initial meeting
to pursue the possibility of a
merger.
To help further their dis-
cussions, the three organiza-
tions have begun searching
for a consultant,
Leah Rosenbaum,
former JVS pres-
ident and CEO,
told the Jewish
News. They have
conducted inter-
views and hope
to make a decision on a hire
within the next week or two.
The possibility of a merger
was first reported Feb. 25 by
Crain’
s Detroit Business.
“We realized that we do
have overlap in the people
we serve, and we’
re all reliant
on government funding,”
Rosenbaum said. “We decid-
ed to lean in a little further.”
The goal, Rosenbaum said,
is for all three groups to
“maximize our money to go
to mission.” She added, “Our
conversations are surround-
ing how we can best serve the
people that we serve in the
most cost-effective way.”
JVS, headquartered in
Southfield with four offices
across Metro Detroit, was
founded in 1941 and provides
counseling, training and
social services to area fami-
lies with a focus on women,
people with disabilities and
seniors.
Rosenbaum has been with
JVS for 40 years and retired
at the end of February; COO
Paul Blatt takes her place as
the new CEO.
Eric Adelman,
executive direc-
tor at Kadima in
Southfield, said
the organizations
are “very early on
in our conversa-
tions,” and that no decision
has been made about what
shape the proposed collabo-
ration would take.
“We could share our back-
end systems such as pay-
roll or IT, jointly run some
programs or we could even
merge the three agencies
into one,” Adelman said. “We
are looking at this with very
open eyes and trying to find
the best solution for the peo-
ple served.”
Although Kadima is not
a formal partner of JFMD,
Adelman said
the two consid-
er themselves
“brother and sis-
ter organizations.”
JFS, led by CEO
Perry Ohren,
serves groups including
seniors, people struggling
with mental health issues and
Russian immigrants.
There are overlaps in
the groups’
missions. Both
Kadima and JFS provide out-
patient psychiatric services,
as well as outpatient individ-
ual and group therapy. Both
JVS and JFS provide aid to
seniors and people with dis-
abilities.
While Kadima has experi-
enced financial speedbumps
in the past, Adelman said
that its 2019 audit, once
complete, will show that it is
now “in the black.” Financial
concerns are a priority for
all three organizations, yet
they are not a driving force in
these conversations, Adelman
added.
While it appears too soon
to speak to what the outcome
of these conversations will
be, the organizations have
already reached out to part-
ners and donors.
“All that we are embarking
upon is to answer the ques-
tion of how our services can
be combined, and should
they even be combined, to
serve this community bet-
ter,” Ohren said. “The only
reason, in my perspective, to
merge or collaborate is if we
can actually serve the com-
munity better.”
Jews in the D
Could Three
Become One?
JFS, JVS and Kadima in talks
to enter a potential merger.
CORRIE COLF STAFF WRITER
Leah
Rosenbaum
Eric Adelman
Perry Ohren