Yaffa Podbilewicz-Weinberg, Ph.D., Director of the Holocaust Survivor Care Program, and Maya Jacob, Older Adults Case Manager for Holocaust Survivor Care, presented at the September Claims Conference Southeastern Region Grant Management Workshop in Denver, Colorado. They provided an overview of the Holocaust Survivor Care Program at Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, highlighting the development of digital, processing, and accounting systems. They discussed how these systems help manage allocations and funding targets to maximize the use of all funds from Germany, negotiated by the Claims Conference, for JFS’s Holocaust survivor program.
These systems have evolved over the years, contributing to our Holocaust Survivor Care Program’s recent top score on a Claims Conference audit in August.
As a grant-funded program, the Claims Conference audits the program every few years to ensure compliance with grant requirements. The audit results reflect the effectiveness of the implemented systems, the strength of collaboration between the Holocaust Survivor Care program and the Fiscal/Accounting team, and the ongoing commitment to serving our clients, homecare agencies, and private pay caregivers with the utmost care and attention.
Other key topics at the conference included efforts to enhance collaboration between agency departments and the ongoing problem-solving initiatives, such as establishing partnerships with new home care agencies, tightening agreements, and developing a system for Russian-speaking family caregivers. These improvements are part of a continuous effort to enhance our services offered to Holocaust Survivors in the Greater Dallas community.
Another notable presentation was given by Claims Conference Assistant Executive VP and General Counsel, Karen Heilig, who discussed the German Government negotiations process. She provided a historical overview and explained the ongoing negotiations with the German Finance Ministry. These negotiations relate to direct compensation programs for Holocaust survivors worldwide, as well as the funding that supports Jewish social service agencies, such as JFS, in meeting the ongoing needs of Holocaust survivors.Â
The conference brought together counterparts from across the Southeast region, Claims Conference staff, and the hosting JFS Denver leadership—many of whom Yaffa and Maya had only met on Zoom before. The two expressed their delight with the supportive atmosphere and the amount of information shared. Both Yaffa and Maya found it especially meaningful to finally meet everyone in person and strengthen connections for future collaboration.
