Our History

Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum was founded in 1868 in Cleveland, Ohio and was residence to 80 children. By 1900, the orphanage cared for 400 children in a home located at E. 55th Street and Woodland Avenue. The cornerstone of the new campus was laid in 1928 at the agency’s current location on Fairmount Boulevard in Shaker. The orphanage is renamed Bellefaire Jewish Children’s Bureau, now known as Bellefaire JCB.

In 1941 the agency begins offering therapeutic services for at-risk youth and those needing a stable living environment. Over time the agency expanded its community-based programs to include school-based counseling, after school group counseling, in-home family counseling, psychiatry and more. Today we provide a full array of outreach, treatment and prevention services in the community, schools and your home.