Do Special Education Graduates in Israel Get Help as Adults?
About 3,200 special education graduates receive welfare services only a year or more after leaving school, on the State Comptroller’s 2024 audit.
About 3,200 special education graduates, roughly half of those who reach welfare services in adulthood, receive them only a year or more after graduation, on the State Comptroller of Israel’s audit of the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs published in July 2024. The same audit counts about 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 recognised as eligible for Ministry services, on the Ministry’s own eligibility criteria. The State Comptroller publishes those figures in its own English abstract of the chapter.
| Figure | What it counts | Period |
|---|---|---|
| About 44,500 | Adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services, on the Ministry’s own criteria | Audit published July 2024 |
| About 3,200 | Special education graduates reaching welfare services in adulthood who receive them only a year or more after graduation, about half of that group | Audit published July 2024 |
| About 2,400, about 6% | Special education graduates who took part in the adult-life preparation programmes offered jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare | Audit published July 2024 |
| About 41,000, 94% | Eligible adults who did not systematically receive the service the audit describes | Audit published July 2024 |
| About 530, around 20% | Recognised eligible and unserved people who are special education graduates with intellectual developmental disability | Audit published July 2024 |
| About 820, about 32% | Recognised eligible and unserved people who have autism | Audit published July 2024 |
| About NIS 2 billion | Additional budget the government allocated to implement the law | Audit published July 2024 |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, 2024, The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities, English abstract.
About 3,200 special education graduates wait a year or more
The State Comptroller reports that about half of special education graduates who reach welfare services in adulthood, about 3,200 people, receive them only a year or more after graduation. The count rests on the Ministry of Welfare’s own recognition of who is entitled to its services, so it counts graduates who arrive at the Ministry’s door rather than all graduates. The audit carries the figure as an approximation and it stays one.
- Counts graduates who reach welfare services, not every leaver of special education
- Counts the delay between graduation and receipt of services, not the length of any list
- Published as about half of that group; the abstract prints no total for graduates reaching services
The Comptroller counts about 44,500 eligible adults aged 18 to 40
About 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 are eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services, on the State Comptroller’s July 2024 audit, and the eligibility applied is the Ministry’s own. Against that population, the State Comptroller records an additional budget of about NIS 2 billion allocated by the government to implement the law. The age band is part of the figure: adults over 40 sit outside it.
| Element | What the audit publishes |
|---|---|
| Population | About 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 eligible for services |
| Eligibility | Recognition by the Ministry of Welfare, on its own criteria |
| Budget | About NIS 2 billion in additional government funding to implement the law |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, 2024, English abstract.
Only about 6% of graduates joined adult-life preparation programmes
The State Comptroller found that only about 6% of special education graduates, about 2,400 people, took part in the adult-life preparation programmes that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare offer jointly. Separately, the audit states that 94%, about 41,000 people, did not systematically receive the service it describes, and that only 20% of respondents indicated they could access a designated website or representative. Each of those three shares belongs to a different base, and the table gives the base with the figure.
| Figure | What it counts | Base it is a share of |
|---|---|---|
| About 2,400, about 6% | Graduates taking part in joint Education and Welfare preparation programmes | Special education graduates |
| About 41,000, 94% | Eligible adults not systematically receiving the service described | The eligible population of about 44,500 |
| 20% | Respondents indicating they could reach a designated website or representative | Survey respondents in the audit |
Source: State Comptroller of Israel, 2024, English abstract.
About 530 unserved eligible people are graduates with intellectual disability
Of those recognised as eligible and not receiving services, around 20%, about 530 people, are special education graduates with intellectual developmental disability, and about 32%, about 820 people, have autism, on the State Comptroller’s July 2024 audit. Both shares are of the recognised and unserved group, which the abstract does not size, and not of the 44,500. They are two groups within that set and do not compose it.
No employment or independent-living count appears in the audit
The State Comptroller publishes eligibility, waiting time, programme participation and service costs, and publishes no count of special education graduates in work, in study or living independently. On cost, the audit relays the Ministry of Welfare’s own figures: community housing services average about NIS 1,700 a month, against about NIS 13,000 for the alternative the Ministry compares it with. That pair is a cost comparison and the audit attaches no outcome measure to it.
- Published: eligibility, delay after graduation, participation, access to information, service costs
- Not published in this chapter: employment, study or independent-living outcomes for graduates
- Not published: a total for the recognised and unserved group
Which of these figures may not be added together?
Every figure here comes from the State Comptroller’s own English abstract of the July 2024 chapter, not from the full report, and each is printed as an approximation. The about 2,400 and the about 41,000 belong to different bases, graduates and the eligible population of about 44,500, and may not be summed or subtracted. The about 530 and the about 820 are shares of the recognised and unserved group, so neither may be restated as a share of the 44,500. The delay counted here is a wait for welfare services and is not the health-fund wait for a medical specialist counted in a separate Comptroller chapter, and the community housing costs are not the state-owned public housing stock audited in another.
Questions readers ask
How long after school do graduates wait for welfare services?
The State Comptroller reports that about half of special education graduates who reach welfare services in adulthood, about 3,200 people, receive them only a year or more after graduation.
How many adults are eligible for these services?
The State Comptroller counts about 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services, on the Ministry’s own eligibility criteria.
Does eligibility mean services are received?
No. The State Comptroller states that 94%, about 41,000 people, did not systematically receive the service the audit describes.
Who runs the adult-life preparation programmes?
The State Comptroller records that the programmes are offered jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare.
How many graduates took part in them?
The State Comptroller found that only about 6% of special education graduates, about 2,400 people, took part.
Can families find out what they are entitled to?
The State Comptroller reports that only 20% of respondents indicated they could access a designated website or representative.
Who are the unserved eligible people?
The State Comptroller counts around 20%, about 530 people, as special education graduates with intellectual developmental disability, and about 32%, about 820 people, as having autism.
What does community housing cost?
The State Comptroller relays Ministry of Welfare data putting community housing services at about NIS 1,700 a month, against about NIS 13,000 for the alternative the Ministry compares it with.
What budget is attached to the law?
The State Comptroller records about NIS 2 billion in additional budget allocated by the government to implement the law.
Does the audit say how many graduates found work?
No. The State Comptroller publishes no count of graduates in work, in study or living independently in this chapter.
What ages does the audit cover?
The State Comptroller scopes the chapter to adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 who are eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services.
Sources
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2020. The Ministry of Education: Haredi Education and Its Supervision. Annual Report 70b. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. Purchase and Sale of Public Housing Apartments, Follow-up Audit. Ministry of Construction and Housing, July 2024, English abstract. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities. Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, July 2024, English abstract. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
- State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. Waiting Times for Specialist Medical Services. Chapter 601, annual report 75A part B, November 2024. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
