Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service (New York, N.Y.)

Established 1947.

The Training Bureau for Jewish Communal Service trained graduate social workers for positions in Jewish welfare agencies from 1947-1951. Five agencies collaborated to initially create the TBJCS: the American Association for Jewish Education, the National Community Relations Advisory Council, the National Jewish Welfare Board, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds. 2 During its tenure, it focused on training experienced social workers with degrees to advance their careers in Jewish agencies. Students split their time between classroom work (over two summers) and a field assignment, usually at the agency that had sponsored their entrance to the school. Costs were subsidized by the agencies that recommended students (generally from among their employees) and from other contributions. It also ran a number of shorter institutes and seminars for Jewish social workers. However, reduced funding from charitable organizations forced the TBJCS to close in 1951.