“Partners In Caring,” A Synagogue-Federation-Agency Collaboration

The Capstone team evaluated the “Partners In Caring” program (PiC), a grant that allows social workers to deliver counseling, group therapy, and educational workshops in a place Jews congregate—the synagogue. The grant was made by the federated body that represents the interests of Long Island Jewry in order to foster stronger ties of Long Island Jews to the Federation and enhance Jewish communal life on Long Island. The team reviewed the functioning of all points of the service delivery model, compared the program to other synagogue-Federation (“church-state”) collaborative efforts across the US, and compared PiC to other synagogue-agency co-projects. The team described and analyzed the program’s marketing, staffing, financing, and programming issues, made recommendations to all relevant stakeholders, and generated a list of best practices.