L’Dor v’Dor: From Generation to Generation

Educating the next generation is a core Jewish value, one that CJE SeniorLife takes to heart. To support it, CJE’s counseling department hires interns every year, to give them practical experience in the growing field of eldercare.

This year, CJE has four interns. One already works at CJE, and through the intern program she is able to continue working while in school, earning a master’s degree in social work and getting her required field placement hours at CJE as well. The others come from a wide variety of backgrounds.

Interns, all of whom are master’s degree candidates, work in different areas of CJE. In past years, some have assisted at Adult Day Services, starting as observers but eventually leading groups and working with clients individually. Others have worked in care management, visiting clients at their homes; in intake, determining which services a new client could benefit from; in counseling, as therapists, and in Holocaust Community Services, a role limited to Russian speakers.

Sharon Dornberg-Lee, Clinical Director of Community Services, says the intern program is a vital part of CJE SeniorLife, helping to shorten waitlists, bring more services to clients, and introduce the next generation to a fulfilling aspect of social work they may not have considered before. “Since almost the founding of CJE, we have employed social workers and we have had a commitment to training the next generation of social workers to work in the field of ageing,” she explains. “We want them to know there are exciting opportunities.”

And educating young social workers is not a one-way street. Current CJE counseling interns have different programs of study from what they were a generation ago. They bring knowledge and updated information and skill sets into CJE, which challenges the staff to think in new ways as well.

CJE social work interns receive a stipend, generously funded by Jewish United Fund, as part of their mental health grant to CJE, and the Kott Foundation, through their Aging Scholars program. If you are working on a master’s degree in social work and are interested in the CJE Counseling Interns program, please send your resume and a cover letter to Sharon Dornberg-Lee at sharon.dornberg-lee@cje.net.