Social Services

Israel's comprehensive welfare system is based on legislation which provides for a broad range of national and community services. Care of the elderly; support programs for single parents, children and youth; prevention and treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse; and assistance for new immigrants comprise a large part of available social services. Correctional services encompass probation frameworks, remedial programs for school dropouts, and residential and observational services for youth in distress. Sheltered workshops and employment counseling are among the rehabilitation services provided for the blind and physically disabled. The mentally retarded are cared for through various residential and community­based programs.

Administration

Under the Social Welfare Law (1958), municipalities and local authorities are required to maintain a department responsible for the delivery of social services, 75 percent of whose budget comes from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Nationwide services such as adoption, probation frameworks and residential institutions for the mentally retarded are funded and run by the Ministry. The Ministry determines policy, initiates legislation, enacts regulations for the operation of social services and supervises those offered by public and private organizations.

Services supplied by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs:

• Personal & Social Services
• Rehabilitation Services for the Disabled
• Services for the Mentally Handicapped
• Special Services
• Youth Development and Correction

Social Service Personnel

Schools of social work available in most universities offer graduate and postgraduate training, combining theoretical study with field work. Government­operated programs provide training at centers throughout the country for child care staff and social work aides, as well as in­service training for social work professionals. Community and case workers are employed in various contexts, including social service bureaus, community centers, immigrant absorption facilities, mother­and­child­care centers, schools, factories and hospitals.

Senior Citizens

Care and services for the elderly have become a major component of Israel's health and social service capabilities. While the total population has increased six­fold since the country's establishment, the number of senior citizens (age 65+) has increased 17­fold, now representing nearly 10 percent of Israel's 5.6 million inhabitants. Much of this growth has been due to mass immigration, which peaked during the 1950s and again in the 1990s, when nearly 700,000 (mainly from the countries of the former Soviet Union) arrived, more than 12 percent of them aged 65 and over. Since only about 5 percent of Israel's aged were born in the country, many had neither the time nor the opportunity to learn Hebrew, be absorbed in the work force or establish a secure economic foundation for their old age. Thus many of Israel's elderly, some 13 percent of whom are disabled, is dependant upon family and community resources.

With planning and supervision under the aegis of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, delivery of services is channeled through the social service departments of the local authorities. Community­based services for senior citizens, which aim to preserve their independence at home, include assessment of needs by a social worker, assisting families caring for an aged person, senior citizens' clubs, meals­on­wheels, sheltered housing, day­care, medical equipment and transportation. Emphasis is placed on services for high­risk groups, such as people without family or adequate incomes.

Voluntary Services

Several hundred public voluntary bodies complement national and local health and social services with a wide variety of organizations, ranging from hospital auxiliaries and rehabilitation agencies to immigrant associations geared to helping newcomers adjust to life in Israel. Additional groups address prevailing problems such as alcoholism, rape and battered women as well as drug and child abuse; still others deal with social issues like the status of women, environmental conservation and consumer rights, or with interests specific to a given group or locality. Campaigns by voluntary groups, including occasional national telethons, to collect funds for causes ranging from facilities for the physically and mentally handicapped to cancer research and soldiers' welfare are a regular feature of Israeli life. The well­being of people in many sectors of the population has been significantly improved due to the activities of thousands of volunteers, comprising Israelis from all walks of life, men and women, young and old.