Structure and Change: How a Social Service Agency Copes with Dramatic Swings in Client Numbers

Publication Date: September 1998

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Gloria Zicht

Research Area: Population and demographics; Social conditions

Keywords: Social Services; Jewish Organizations; Immigration

Type: Report

Coverage: New York

Abstract:

Refugee resettlement agencies have had to expand and contract in accordance with refugee arrivals. This constant shifting in staff and budget has profound implications for agency structure and staff morale. As the major resettlement organization of the Jewish community, the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) has developed bureaucratic structures and technology to cope with the many swings in Jewish emigration. Communication techniques and rituals have overcome many symptoms of "survivor guilt" during necessary staff downsizing.

In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, v.75 no.1, Fall 1998.