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