1868

Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum is founded in Cleveland, Ohio and is residence to 80 children. By 1900, the orphanage cares for 400 children in a home located at E. 55th Street and Woodland Avenue.

1922

Jewish Day Nursery opens and, when joining Bellefaire JCB in 1945, changes its name to JDN Early Childhood Center to better reflect the programming and diverse student-base.

1924

The orphanage hires its first psychiatrist, paving the way for the vast behavioral health services that are offered at Bellefaire JCB today.

1928

The cornerstone of the new campus is laid at the agency’s current location on Fairmount Boulevard in Shaker. The orphanage is renamed Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau, now known as Bellefaire JCB.

1941

The agency begins offering therapeutic services for at-risk youth and those needing a stable living environment. Over time the agency expanded its community-based programs to include school-based counseling, after school group counseling, in-home family counseling, psychiatry and more.

1954

The array of services offered by the agency are now available to children of all faiths. This speaks to the core of Bellefaire JCB's mission to provides services without regard to race, religion, sex or national origin, and encourages all clients to develop positive identification with their religious and ethnic backgrounds.

1961

Cleveland's Jewish Big Brother program, which was organized in 1919, partners with Bellefaire JCB. In 1973 the program begins mentoring girls and amends its name in 1983 to Jewish Big Brother Big Sister Association, which is a charter member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

1979

The first therapeutic residential treatment cottage opens, allowing for a multi-level continuum of care. Building upon the agency's strengths in providing a multidisciplinary approach to behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, programs including therapeutic foster care, alcohol and substance abuse treatment, and Parents and Children Together counseling and crisis stabilization are introduced in the 1980s.

2000

In response to studies by Mt. Sinai Foundation, Cleveland Foundation and professional advisors, the agency opens Monarch School for Autism with 12 students. Today, the school serves over 140 students – from preschoolers to young adults – from Ohio and beyond. It is now one of many programs offered by Monarch Center for Autism, which includes therapeutic residential treatment, transitional education, and vocational and life skills training.

2002

Bellefaire JCB executive team creates Wingspan Care Group, an administrative management company that specializes in administration and long range planning for non-profit and related businesses. In addition to Bellefaire JCB, member agencies include Applewood Centers, Monarch Teaching Technologies (a company that produces educational software for children with autism) and Lifeworks (adult autism program).

2004

Bellefaire JCB expands on the successful Monarch Autism Day School with the opening of a co-ed therapeutic residential treatment program for individuals with autism that focuses on reducing maladaptive behaviors by learning communication techniques and life skills. Today our residents are from 12 states throughout the country.

2006

Bellefaire JCB’s Homeless and Missing Youth Program was initiated in October 2006 through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program for homeless, missing, and runaway youth—defined as teens in need of crisis intervention, possible respite and case management for 21 days. The program serves over 3,800 teens, families and community members each year through street outreach, respite care, a drop-in center, community outreach and education, and the 24-hour hotline.

Today

Bellefaire JCB is among the nation’s largest, most experienced child service agencies providing a variety of behavioral health, substance abuse, education and prevention services to nearly 43,000 youth and their families each year. Through more than 25 programs, we support our mission to be an innovative organization that provides exceptional care, education and advocacy to enhance the emotional, physical and intellectual well-being of children, young adults and families in the Jewish and general communities

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