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Who Was Manny Batshaw?

Manny Batshaw

Manny Batshaw - September 2013

Manuel Gilman Batshaw (1914-2016), affectionately known as Manny, was a trailblazer in the field of social welfare. Born in Montreal to Russian immigrants in 1914, he was the youngest of four children. His older brother, Harry, made history as the first Jewish Superior Court Judge, but Manny made his own remarkable contributions.

Manny graduated from McGill University in 1937 and later served in the army as a District Social Service Officer, where he rose to the rank of captain. In 1940, he married fellow social worker Rachel Lewitt, and together they had a son, Mark, who went on to achieve prominence in pediatric care and child development.

From 1968 to 1980, Manny held the prestigious position of Executive Director at the Federation of Allied Jewish Community Services (AJCS), later renamed Federation CJA. A defining moment of his career came in 1975 when he led the preparation of the landmark "Batshaw Committee Report." This groundbreaking report revolutionized child welfare practices by promoting foster care over institutionalization, prioritizing the individual needs of children, and fostering more humane and community-integrated environments.

One significant recommendation from the Batshaw Report was the creation of regional authorities to oversee children and youth in difficulty, leading to legislative changes in 1992 that centralized child-serving institutions under regional boards. In Montreal, two such groupings emerged, one serving the francophone community and the other serving the anglophone and Jewish communities. The Batshaw Youth and Family Centres, formed by the merger of institutions like Ville Marie Social Services Centre and Shawbridge Youth Centres, was named in his honor in recognition of his transformative impact on child welfare.

In 1990, after the passing of his first wife Rachel, Manny married Ruth Schleien, a long-time Federation CJA volunteer. Together, they established the annual "Ruth and Manny Batshaw Award of Excellence" in 2006, which honors outstanding employees at Batshaw Centres.