Jewish Family Service of MetroWest announces they have received a grant from the Merck Foundation Neighbor of Choice initiative to support their work serving elementary-school age children diagnosed with special needs, their siblings and parents.

 Funding from Merck will allow JFS to provide expanded mental health counseling, group therapy and other services to children diagnosed with chronic behavioral, cognitive, physical, developmental and emotional disorders and their families.  Recently, JFS has documented a significant increase in requests for services for children with special needs.  Nearly 30 percent of all children’s intake calls relate to the special needs population which encompasses a wide range of diagnoses and is chronically underserved.

 The Merck Neighbor of Choice grant will enable JFS to strengthen its therapeutic program offerings for the special needs population including additional hours of individual and family counseling, social skills groups for children with challenges such as Asperger’s syndrome or attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder, support groups for parents and siblings and consultations to local preschools.

 The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation.  Established in 1957 by Merck, a global healthcare leader, the Foundation is funded entirely by the company and is Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit, charitable organizations.  Since its inception, The Merck Company Foundation has contributed more than $600 million to support important initiatives that address societal needs and are consistent with Merck's overall mission to help the world be well.  For more information, visit www.merckcompanyfoundation.org.

 With roots going back to 1861, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest is today a comprehensive social service agency providing counseling and support services, on a non-discriminatory basis, to help strengthen and restore the family, in Essex, Morris, Sussex and parts of Hudson and Union counties.  JFS helps 4,000 in the Metro West area each year.  Traditionally, half of our services help older adults and their families cope with the changes of aging through extensive in-home services including subsidized home care, case management services, counseling, caregiver education, volunteer friendly visitors, and specialized programs for Holocaust survivors. For children and families, JFS provides individual, couple, child and family counseling, play therapy, support groups, adoption services, school and synagogue-based social work services, debt counseling, domestic violence services, family life education and other assistance needed to maintain healthy families. JFS has offices located in Florham Park, Livingston and Jersey City.   For more information, please call (973) 765-9050 or visit www.jfsmetrowest.org.