Israel Welfare Ministry Withdraws Disability Regulations Over Mental Health Budget Dispute
The Israeli Welfare Ministry withdrew key disability law regulations following a budget dispute with MK Michal Woldiger over mental health patients. Concurrently, the Union of Social Workers declared sanctions over increased workloads.
Dispute Over Jurisdiction and Budgets
The Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs has made a last-minute decision to withdraw the regulations required to implement the Welfare Services Law for People with Disabilities. The move follows a sharp dispute with the chairwoman of the Knesset Welfare Committee, MK Michal Woldiger, regarding the boundaries of the ministry's responsibility toward individuals dealing with mental health issues.
The ministry seeks to exclude individuals with cognitive decline stemming from mental health conditions from the scope of the law and its derived social services. The ministry argues that this population already receives services from the Ministry of Health under the "rehabilitation basket" (sal shikum) framework, as mental health falls under the sole jurisdiction of the Health Ministry.
According to the Ministry of Welfare, directing extensive resources to the mental health population would compromise its ability to provide adequate services to individuals with disabilities who have no other address outside the Welfare Ministry—including individuals with autism, intellectual disabilities, and various physical and cognitive limitations.
The Core of the Reform and Financial Projections
The Welfare Services Law for People with Disabilities is a landmark piece of legislation passed during the previous Knesset. Its implementation is expected to fundamentally transform how the Welfare Ministry provides services to individuals under its care. The core principle of the law is that social services will henceforth be granted based on the level of support an individual requires, rather than their medical diagnosis.
The full implementation of the law depends on the approval of regulations by the Knesset Welfare Committee. The committee was scheduled to convene tomorrow, despite the Knesset's election recess, to vote on a portion of the regulations. However, the ministry withdrew them due to Woldiger's opposition to excluding individuals with "cognitive-neuropsychological disabilities"—a condition characterized by low IQ and functional difficulties that can be congenital or result from illness or head injuries.
The ministry fears that opening the gates to mental health patients will overwhelm services designated for people with disabilities and breach the budget framework established for the law's implementation. Welfare Minister Haim Katz recently wrote to Woldiger:
"Including this population within the scope of the law... will inevitably come at the expense of the populations currently cared for by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, for whom this law was intended, and for whom this is the only existing legislative arrangement."
Woldiger responded to the minister's stance:
"There is no justification for denying a person with a disability the assistance determined to be necessary for them, simply because they also have another disability."
The ministry presented data indicating that there are approximately 15,000 individuals with mental health conditions who also suffer from cognitive decline. According to ministry calculations, providing services to this population—parallel to the mental health services they already receive—could inflate the budget of the Welfare Services Law by an additional 1 billion NIS, on top of the 2 billion NIS already allocated.
Woldiger questioned these figures, noting that the total number of mental health patients eligible for the Ministry of Health's rehabilitation basket is approximately 45,000, and about a third of them do not utilize their rights at all. The ministry explained that its calculation is based on the potential growth of this population in the coming years.
Dr. Adi Altshuler's colleagues in the civil society sector also voiced concerns. Dr. Edut Saragusti, head of policy promotion at the "Bizchut" organization, stated:
"The practical meaning of the Welfare Ministry's proposed definition is that a person with a significant cognitive disability who needs support could be excluded from the law simply because they also have a mental disability. The central question should be the person's functional limitation and their resulting needs, not the cause of the disability."
Social Workers Launch Sanctions
Meanwhile, preparations for the law's implementation have triggered another conflict. The Union of Social Workers announced it will launch partial labor sanctions due to the heavy workload expected to fall on social workers as a result of the law. The union declared that its members will stop participating in ministry meetings and training sessions in the field of disabilities until the dispute is resolved.
The union stated that it "supports the law and its goal to expand the rights of people with disabilities," but added that "the state cannot impose additional tasks on workers without providing the necessary manpower and resources."
The Ministry of Welfare rejected the union's claims, stating:
"The ministry has been preparing for the implementation of the Welfare Services Law for a long time and has allocated the necessary resources, including manpower positions. Therefore, the motives behind the union's aggressive step are unclear to us. The ministry will not tolerate harm to service recipients and is considering its steps accordingly."
