Municipal Social Services to Receive 510 New Work Rates

The Ministry of Social Welfare, in a collaborative effort with the Budget Allocation Division of the Ministry of Finance, has organized a comprehensive program aimed at introducing 510 new work rates to municipal social services. Since the inception of the Iron Swords War, the workload of these services has seen a marked increase, necessitating this expansion.

Of these 510 new positions, 200 have been created with the specific intention of bolstering the existing staff within the municipal social services departments. These departments, predominantly situated in settlements that have taken in evacuees, have been stretched thin due to the influx of people. The remaining 310 employees will be tasked with managing guests housed in evacuation centers that have been established in hotels.

In providing much-needed support to these departments, the Ministry of Social Welfare is set to equip them with social workers who are trained and ready to extend assistance to a variety of individuals. These include war orphans, former hostages who have been released from captivity, victims of sexualized violence, as well as residents of northern Israel and settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip who are striving to re-establish normalcy in their lives.

A sum of NIS 137 million has been earmarked to fortify social services. With the rise in instances of domestic violence and issues pertaining to at-risk youth, the responsibilities of social workers have grown manifold. They are also expected to extend their support to victims of sexual violence, accompany orphans and the families of abducted children, and tackle numerous other problems that have either arisen or been exacerbated in the wake of the events of “Black Saturday” and the War of “Iron Swords”. In addition to the increase in rates, provisions have also been made to add 150 thousand extra working hours and provide pay premiums for emergency calls.