• The bulk of child welfare services in Israel are organized within the framework of government agencies. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs works at the national level, and the municipal welfare offices function at the local level. The ministry is responsible for policy making and legislation, planning, supervising programs, and eighty percent of the funding for services. There are nearly 200 local welfare offices and their responsibilities include direct service delivery, planning, and evaluation of local welfare needs, employment, and twenty percent of the funding for welfare costs. Child welfare programs of the ministry are handled in the Division for Personal and Social Affairs and are scattered within three central departments which are The Service for the Individual and Family Welfare, The Service for Children and Youth, and The Child and Adoption Service. The Service for Individual and Family Welfare ensures the well being of families in the community through counseling services, financial aid, and housing. This department also offers special services for single parent families, battered wives, and families dealing with other difficult circumstances. The Service for Children and Youth provides care for children who cannot stay at home for various reasons. The department tries to prevent permanent separation of the child from the family. The Child and Adoption Service aids children under 12 years who cannot grow up with their biological parents. The service also provides foster families for children, counseling, legal advice, and help for unmarried pregnant women.

Youth Aliyah

• Youth Aliyah is also one of the major components of childcare in Israel. This organization was founded in 1932 in response to mass immigration of Jewish children from all across Europe and Northern Africa after World War II. The word, Aliyah, literally means immigration. The organization's original goal was to provide immigrant youth with a home and an education to help them integrate into Israeli society. Today, Youth Aliyah is Israel's largest child caring organization. While the government primarily serves children under age twelve, Youth Aliyah mainly aids adolescent, disadvantaged youth from poverty stricken families through day centers, educational and vocational training programs, and various other forms of aid. In 1980, 82% of the children aided by Youth Aliyah were of Sephardi origin. Sephardi Jews are of African or Middle Eastern decent, while the Ashkenazi Jews are of European origin. Sephardi Jews have consistently been on the lower end of the economic scale and constitute the majority in Israel's slums. The social structure of Israeli society is prominent in childcare in that 80% of the children in institutions or aided by the welfare departments are of Sephardi origin.