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Executive
Summary
1996-1997 Survey of Jewish Communal Professionals
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Often
thought to be a deeply divisive and controversial
issue in the American Jewish community, outreach
programs to intermarried families received overwhelming
support in a survey of Jewish communal professionals,
who represent the backbone of educational, cultural,
recreational and social services in the organized
Jewish community. A mail questionnaire was sent
to the membership of the National Association of
Jewish Communal Professionals, consisting primarily
of Jewish social service workers who staff Jewish
community centers, day camps, family service agencies,
senior residences, and child care programs; a total
of 276 responded. Another 101 questionnaires were
returned by Jewish communal professionals sampled
via a list previously purchased and used for mailings
by the Jewish Outreach Institute, the sponsor of
the study. |
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Go to
"The Respondents"
for
more details |
The proto-typical Jewish communal
professional respondent had been employed in various
Jewish organizations for an average of 18 years,
had earned a Masters degree, was married to a spouse
who was Jewish by birth, and was a synagogue member.
In terms of denomination, the JOI list professionals
were Conservative [43%] and Reform [46%] Jews; the
national list respondents were typically Conservative
[48%], Orthodox [12%] and Reform [24%]. |
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The results of the survey provide
additional support for the continued expansion
of outreach programs to intermarried couples and
children from intermarried families. More than
93% felt that it was "somewhat" or "very" important
that the Jewish community provide outreach programs
to interfaith couples and their children. Moreover,
the respondents noted that their local communities
were moderately/very receptive to outreach [85%],
and that outreach was not very controversial --
only 8% of the respondents said that the development
of outreach programs had been very controversial
in their community. In addition, survey respondents
reported that about half of their clients are
either intermarried themselves or have close family
[i.e., children, grandchildren, siblings, or parents]
who are intermarried. About 35% indicated intermarriage
in their own families and the average estimate
of about 40% of their agencies' board members
had close family experiences with intermarriage.
Yet, when asked to estimate what proportion of
their agency's budget was spent on outreach to
the intermarried, the average estimate was 5%.
As a result, approximately four-of-five survey
respondents indicated that the amount of money
allocated by national and local Jewish agencies
to such outreach endeavors ought to be increased.
In short, the study reveals a widely shared perception
among Jewish communal professionals that the need
for outreach to the intermarried is far greater
than is the amount of financial resources or effort
devoted to serving that population.
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Go to
"The Importance of Outreach"
for
more details |
Go to
"Community Receptivity"
for
more details |
Go to
"Scarce Resource Allocations"
for
more details |
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Go to
"CPE and Outreach Training"
for
more details |
While over half
of the Jewish communal professionals had participated
in continuing professional education [CPE] within
the past three years, the survey found that the
vast majority of Jewish communal professionals,
particularly those sampled from the national organization
list, had received little or no training in outreach
to the intermarried. For example, only one of ten
survey respondents had been trained in evaluation
techniques for intermarried programs; only one-in-five
had received training in marketing outreach efforts.
Respondents selectively indicated their support
for continuing education programs and materials
that would help them assist the intermarried. For
example, a training curriculum for new outreach
professionals was judged very useful by 57% of respondents
and moderately useful by another 37%. Other strongly
supported initiatives were standardized evaluation
tools for assessing the effectiveness of outreach
programs, training videotapes for professionals,
a model advertising campaign for marketing outreach
programs, and a pamphlet series/audio-video tapes
to help market Judaism to inter-dating and intermarried
couples. On the other hand, a National Association
of Outreach Professionals and teleconferences focusing
on outreach were the least strongly desired initiatives.
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In terms of national visibility,
during the ten years of its existence, JOI has achieved
some success. While almost half the respondents
from the national Jewish communal professional list
had not heard of JOI before the survey, over 40%
had not only heard of JOI, but somewhat/clearly
understood that JOI focused on outreach to the intermarried.
JOI was rated by the survey respondents as having
been somewhat successful in its goal of advancing
the cause of Jewish outreach to the intermarried;
over 70% of JOI list respondents and over 60% of
national list respondents who knew of JOI before
the survey said that JOI had "partly accomplished
its goal" or had been "fairly successful." |
Go to
"JOI's Visibility" for
more details |
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Go to
"The Internet"
for
more details |
Finally,
data on Internet access and familiarity with the
JOI homepage/web site indicated both a vast potential
and a moderate level of success. Two-thirds of respondents
had used the Internet/World Wide Web at either work
or at home, although only one of three had ever
used the Council of Jewish Federations Jewish On-line
Network--and only 8% used the Jewish On-Line Network
for Internet access. As for JOI's relatively new
site on the Web, 30% of the JOI list respondents
but only 10% of the national organization list respondents
knew that JOI had a "home page." Just about half
of those who knew that a web site existed had used
the World Wide Web to access JOI's home page. Thus,
JOI should continue its efforts to publicize its
Internet address and to encourage Jewish communal
professionals to expand their electronic interactions
with the Jewish Outreach Institute's resources for
outreach programs. |
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