Does Israel Run Welfare Services In-House or Buy Them In?
About NIS 3.5 billion went on purchased social services in 2022, about 36% of the Ministry of Welfare budget, on the State Comptroller’s audit.
About NIS 3.5 billion went on purchased social services in three of the Ministry of Welfare’s administrations in 2022, on the audit of that procurement published by the State Comptroller of Israel, which puts the sum at about 36% of the Ministry’s entire budget. The same audit records that services are bought from outside providers of mixed kind, some commercial and some associations pursuing social aims. Alongside that purchasing, the audit describes a matching funding method under which the Ministry carries 75% of the cost of personal welfare services and local authorities carry 25%.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About NIS 3.5 billion | Ministry of Welfare spending on outsourced social services in three administrations | 2022 |
| About 36% | That spending as a share of the entire Ministry of Welfare budget | 2022 |
| About NIS 2.5 billion | Out-of-home social procurement, the audit’s own category | As audited |
| 71% | Out-of-home share of total social procurement spending | As audited |
| 75% and 25% | Cost split under the matching funding method, Ministry and local authorities | As audited |
| 10% to 38% | Disability cases as a share of all cases in the social service departments examined | As audited |
| About 18% of GDP | Israel’s expenditure on social services, against an OECD average of 21.2% | 2021 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Procurement of Outsourced Social Services by the Ministry of Welfare, and Services Provided by Local Authorities to People with Disabilities, Centre against Periphery.
The Ministry spent about NIS 3.5 billion on outsourcing in 2022
The State Comptroller reports that about 92% of social procurement is carried out in three administrations of the Ministry of Welfare and 8% in the senior citizens administration. The NIS 3.5 billion figure is the audit’s own count of outsourcing in those three administrations, not of the Ministry’s outsourcing as a whole, and the about 36% relates it to the Ministry’s full budget. The audit also records Israel’s expenditure on social services at about 18% of GDP in 2021, against an OECD average of 21.2%.
Out-of-home services are about NIS 2.5 billion, 71% of social procurement
Out-of-home procurement is the audit’s own category, covering services delivered away from the person’s home, and the State Comptroller puts it at about NIS 2.5 billion, or 71% of total social procurement spending. That sum sits inside the NIS 3.5 billion above rather than beside it. On the cost of one such purchased service, the State Comptroller’s 2024 audit of the Ministry of Welfare’s treatment of adults with disabilities records an average monthly cost of about NIS 1,700 for community housing against about NIS 13,000 for the alternative the Ministry compares it with.
- Out-of-home procurement: about NIS 2.5 billion, 71% of social procurement, on the Comptroller’s audit of Ministry of Welfare purchasing.
- Community housing: about NIS 1,700 a month on average, the Ministry’s own data relayed by the Comptroller in 2024.
- The comparator the Ministry sets against it: about NIS 13,000 a month, a cost comparison and not a measure of outcome.
The Ministry bears 75% of personal welfare costs, authorities 25%
Under the matching funding method described in the State Comptroller’s procurement audit, the Ministry of Welfare bears 75% of the cost of personal welfare services and local authorities bear the remaining 25%. The two shares are the audit’s own account of the Ministry’s funding arrangement and sum to the whole cost of those services. The audit sets that split against Israel’s social services expenditure of about 18% of GDP in 2021.
| Party | Share of personal welfare service cost |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Welfare | 75% |
| Local authorities | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Procurement of Outsourced Social Services by the Ministry of Welfare.
Disability cases run 10% to 38% of local social service caseloads
The State Comptroller’s audit of services provided by local authorities to people with disabilities found that, across the authorities it examined, disability cases were 10% to 38% of all cases handled by their social service departments, and disability spending was 36% to 56% of total welfare spending. Those are the spreads the audit measured among audited authorities, not national rates. The same audit records about 1.6 million people with disabilities living in Israel in 2020, about 17% of a population of about 9.2 million.
| Measure | Range across audited authorities |
|---|---|
| Disability cases as a share of all cases handled | 10% to 38% |
| Disability spending as a share of welfare spending | 36% to 56% |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, Services Provided by Local Authorities to People with Disabilities, Centre against Periphery. The audit compares centre and periphery, and both figures are spreads rather than averages.
No count of contracted providers or in-house staff appears here
Neither State Comptroller audit used on this page publishes a count of the external providers holding Ministry of Welfare contracts, a split of those providers between non-profit and for-profit, or a count of social workers employed directly by local authorities. The procurement audit records that providers are mixed in kind, some commercial and some associations pursuing social aims, and stops there. The Comptroller’s 2024 audit of the Ministry’s treatment of adults with disabilities counts eligibility and service gaps, about 44,500 eligible adults aged 18 to 40 and about 41,000 not systematically receiving the service, and publishes no provider count.
Which figures here may not be added together?
The State Comptroller published every figure on this page. The about NIS 2.5 billion of out-of-home procurement is a component of the about NIS 3.5 billion, so the two may not be summed. The NIS 3.5 billion covers outsourcing in three administrations and the about 36% is its share of the whole Ministry budget, so the two carry different denominators and travel together. The 10% to 38% and 36% to 56% ranges are spreads across the authorities the Comptroller examined and are not national figures. Figures written with “about” keep the approximation.
Questions readers ask
How much did Israel’s welfare ministry spend on bought-in services?
The State Comptroller reported about NIS 3.5 billion of outsourcing in three Ministry of Welfare administrations in 2022.
What share of the Ministry budget is that?
The State Comptroller put the NIS 3.5 billion at about 36% of the Ministry of Welfare’s entire budget.
Which administrations do the buying?
The State Comptroller recorded that about 92% of social procurement runs through three administrations and 8% through the senior citizens administration.
What kind of services are bought in?
The State Comptroller counted out-of-home services, meaning services delivered away from the person’s home, at about NIS 2.5 billion, or 71% of social procurement.
Who pays for personal welfare services?
The State Comptroller recorded a matching method under which the Ministry of Welfare bears 75% of the cost and local authorities bear 25%.
Who are the providers?
The State Comptroller stated that providers are mixed in kind, some commercial and some associations pursuing social aims, and published no count of them.
How many social workers do local authorities employ?
Neither State Comptroller audit used here published a count of social workers employed by local authorities.
How much of local caseloads is disability work?
The State Comptroller found disability cases at 10% to 38% of all cases across the local social service departments it examined.
How much of local welfare spending goes to disability services?
The State Comptroller found 36% to 56% across those same authorities.
How many people with disabilities live in Israel?
The State Comptroller recorded about 1.6 million in 2020, about 17% of a population of about 9.2 million.
How does Israel’s social spending compare internationally?
The State Comptroller reported Israel’s expenditure on social services at about 18% of GDP in 2021, against an OECD average of 21.2%.
What does community housing cost?
The State Comptroller reported Ministry of Welfare data giving about NIS 1,700 a month on average, against about NIS 13,000 for the alternative the Ministry compares it with.
Sources
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities. Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, English abstract, 16 pp. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Procurement of Outsourced Social Services by the Ministry of Welfare. Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, 57 pp. mevaker.gov.il. Official record.
- State Comptroller of Israel. Services Provided by Local Authorities to People with Disabilities, Centre against Periphery. Local government audit, 186 pp. mevaker.gov.il. Official record.
