In April 1952, representatives of several Jewish communities met to discus how their emerging social welfare needs could more effectively be met. Out of that discussion and the months of discussions that followed, there was increasing recognition that the community lacked a means of effectively dealing with its significant human as well as communal problems. To provide a forum for their concerns and a means to address existing problems, they established the Jewish Welfare Council of Bergen County. Over the years, the Agency grew as its services expanded and its role in the community broadened. In 1972, the Jewish Welfare Council became the Jewish Federation of Community Services of Bergen County and Jewish Family Service became a separate entity within the Federation with its own board of directors and by-laws. Then, in its infancy, JFS became a vital arm of the Federation providing counseling and other services to the Jewish community of Bergen County. In November 1973, the agency became a member of Family Service Association of America. On September 7, 1978, JFS was incorporated as a totally independent agency, with its own bank account and a new constitution, and it received its 501(c) (3) status on April 30, 1980. An uninterrupted period of sustained growth has followed. JFS Bergen joined forces with JFS of North Jersey to become Jewish Family and Children's Services of Northern NJ, a premier social service agency serving the entire Jewish Federation of NNJ catchment area.
