Illinoisans were horrified late last year by a Chicago Tribune exposé about abuses in state-funded residential treatment centers.

Moving beyond outrage to education and advocacy, Jewish Child and Family Services (JCFS) CEO Howard Sitron invited the state legislators quoted in the news accounts to dine with teens and young adults in a state-funded JCFS group home, one not featured by the Tribune . The purpose was to show a group home that is effective in serving those in need and, through its successes, saves the state additional costs in the future.

Legislators usually learn about social issues and state programs through committee hearings organized around presentations from experts. But confidentiality rules limit what can be shared. Encouraging frank dialogue over sharing a meal is the approach which JCFS uses in orienting its new board members. Steve Ballis, a JCFS Board member and past chair, remembers when he participated in a mock Seder with residents. It was only at the JCFS home , said one of the residents, that I learned I could make a mistake and not be beaten . Ballis realized then that there is much to be learned by directly engaging with the teens in the safety of their own JFCS group home.

That’s why in January, State Sens. Julie Morrison (Deerfield) and Heather Steans (Chicago) and State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (Chicago) had dinner, each at a different JCFS group home.

They were briefed first about the five JCFS homes which provide a 24 hour supportive environment to girls and boys, aged 12-21. All of the residents have a history of abuse, neglect, or chronic family conflict and are wards of the State of Illinois. JCFS uses the Sanctuary Model, a well-documented program of positive outcomes for residential programs for children with emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders which prevent them from successfully living within a foster care family. Within a stable, secure environment, the residents learn that their voices are valued and how to express value for the voices of others; something that most other children learn growing up within their families.

Those at dinner with Sen. Steans talked openly about “running” when they get angry because that has always been their response to trouble. At JCFS, the focus is on helping residents develop alternative skills for dealing with negative feelings. There is discussion in Springfield about an alternative approach which would give agencies permission to lock up children and young adults at night to prevent run-aways. While locked doors may be appropriate in some limited situations, Margaret Vimont, COO of JCFS and experienced child welfare professional, feels that progress is measured by the girls expressing their feelings through talking with a friend or staff or exercising or other adaptive coping skills, not by reducing the runaway rate through physical barriers. Most of the residents successfully graduate from the JCFS group homes to foster homes, back to their families or to independent living.

“I was moved by the bond between staff and boys,” said Morrison, recently appointed Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on the Department of Children and Family Services, “It was a place of security where together staff and residents create a home.”

In the debriefing session with the legislators that followed dinner, Ballis linked our commitment as Jews to repairing the world to the work done in transforming the lives of these young people. But, he cautioned, this success is only made possible because of the generosity of the Jewish community and because of the dedication of our staff. Many other agencies, which relied solely on governmental funding to cover all costs, are now scrambling, in the face of shrinking revenues, to maintain quality of service.

Governor Rauner has nominated George Sheldon to become the next DCFS director. Sheldon is highly respected as a strong reformer who turned around Florida’s Children and Families Department. JCFS looks forward to partnering with Director Sheldon and plans to extend a dinner invitation at the group homes to him as soon as he is appointed.

“We are very encouraged that Governor Rauner has nominated George Sheldon to become the next DCFS director, “said Emily Muskovitz Sweet, executive director of JUF’s Jewish Community Relations Council and Government Affairs. ” Mr. Sheldon is highly respected as a strong reformer who turned around Florida’s Children and Families Department. JCFS looks forward to partnering with Director Sheldon and plans to extend a dinner invitation at the group homes to him as soon as he is appointed.”

Suzanne Strassberger is Associate Vice President of Government & Community Partnerships for the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago.