Bellefaire JCB was founded as the Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum in 1868 in Cleveland, Ohio. At that time, 80 children resided in the orphanage and by 1900, 400 children were cared for by the home located at E 55th Street and Woodland Avenue in the city proper.
In 1924 the orphanage hired its first psychiatrist, and in 1928 the cornerstone of the new campus was laid at the agency’s current site, 22001 Fairmount Boulevard in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The orphanage was renamed Bellefaire.
In 1941 the agency began offering therapeutic services for troubled youth and those needing a stable living environment. In 1954 it opened admissions to children of all faiths.
In 1961 the Jewish Big Brother Association became part of Bellefaire JCB, in 1973 it opened the program to include mentoring girls, and in 1983 amended its name to Jewish Big Brother Big Sister Association.
In 1979 Bellefaire JCB began offering residential treatment, community-based services, and early childhood programs, and during the 1980s specialized foster care, alcohol and substance abuse prevention services, and the Parent and Children Together (PACT) program.
In 2000, in response to studies by the Mt. Sinai Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation and professional advisors, the agency opened the Monarch School for Autism and started with just 12 students. Today, the school serves nearly 100 students, from pre-schoolers to young adults. It has been renamed the Monarch Center for Autism.
In 2002 Bellefaire JCB executives created the administrative oversight company, Wingspan Care Group. Wingpsan partner agencies include: Applewood Centers, Bellefaire JCB, and Monarch Teaching Technologies (MTT), a spin-off, for-profit technology company that produces educational software for children with autism.
Over the years, Bellefaire JCB has modified its programs and services to meet the behavioral health needs of children and teens in the Cleveland area, across the country and even internationally, through its Hague-Accredited International Adoption program.
Services include: a Big Brother/Big Sister Program; Counseling, offered in the office, home, community and school; Domestic and International Adoption; Foster Care; Homeless Youth Program; Monarch Services, which include a Day School and Boarding Academy for Children, Adolescents and Adults with Autism; Preschool Programs; Substance Abuse Treatment; and Residential Treatment.