Senator Hillary Meets Queen Esther

February 2002

JERUSALEM -- On her recent Solidarity trip to Israel, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York met with Israel’s Prime Minister, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and most importantly, Queen Esther.

The royal meeting took place at a Purim party held at the Succat Shalom Jerusalem Schusterman Center for Children & Families.

The center, which provides shelter, residence, therapy and advice to at-risk children and their families, was developed by Ashalim – a partnership between JDC-Israel, the UJA-Federation of New York and the Israeli government. Tkumat Arieh, an Israeli non-profit operates the center.

Ms. Susie Stern, Campaign Chair of the UJA-Federation of New York and a member of JDC’s Board of Directors accompanied Senator Clinton on her visit to the center. "She was very moved by the program," Stern remarked. "It was uplifting, even in the midst of all the things that are making life so difficult in Israel right now. Ms. Clinton found the care that is being given to these kids is very touching." Senator Clinton visited the center to witness firsthand, this effective new model for dealing with child abuse and neglect.

The results of the program’s new style of treatment have been so positive, that there are now 15 parent-child centers around the country, with another 2 due to open in the near future.

Until recently, there were two main responses to the problem: either removal of the child from the parental home or professional therapy for a child or parent. Yet removing children from their natural environment frequently causes additional problems, while therapy tends to focus on only one aspect of a dysfunctional family’s problems. As a result, many multi-problem families have fallen through the cracks of the welfare system.

In response to this growing need, Ashalim developed the concept of parent-child centers. Parent-child centers aim to provide a one-stop address for families with a history of mental, physical and/or emotional abuse and neglect. Their goals include:

Reducing and preventing situations of risk;
Repairing parent-child relationships;
Improving parenting skills;
Maintaining the family unit;
Bringing together all community services – welfare, education and health – in a coordinated effort to assist children and their parents.

Each family receives its own unique treatment plan, including individual psychotherapy, art and play therapy, group work, support and para-professional treatment. Parenting classes are also offered. In addition, for divorced families the centers provide a safe environment for supervised visitation with the non-custodial parent.

And how did a non-political stop find a place on Senator Clinton’s busy agenda? "Hillary’s always been involved in programs that help children and this one is a very innovative, successful model," says Stern. "Also, she’s a Senator from New York, and New York Federation is a major partner behind this project. For our part, I wanted her to see the work we do that goes on day in-day and day-out. It was very effective. It had a great impact on her."