Is Community Housing Cheaper Than Institutional Care in Israel?

About NIS 1,700 a month is the average cost of community housing services for adults with disabilities in the State Comptroller of Israel’s audit of the Ministry of Welfare, published in July 2024, against about NIS 13,000 a month for the alternative setting the Ministry sets beside it. The cost comparison is the Ministry of Welfare’s own data, relayed in the Comptroller’s published English abstract. Both figures are average monthly service costs, and the audit covers adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 who are eligible to receive Ministry services.

Figure	What it counts	Period
About NIS 1,700	Average monthly cost of community housing services, on the Ministry of Welfare’s own data	As published, July 2024
About NIS 13,000	Average monthly cost of the alternative setting the Ministry compares with community housing	As published, July 2024
About 44,500	Adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services	As published, July 2024
94%, about 41,000 people	Eligible adults who did not systematically receive the service the audit describes	As published, July 2024
About NIS 2 billion	Additional budget the government allocated to implement the law	As published, July 2024
About 3,200	Special education graduates receiving services only a year or more after graduation, about half of those reaching welfare services in adulthood	As published, July 2024
About 2,400, 6%	Special education graduates who took part in the joint adult-life preparation programmes	As published, July 2024

Source: State Comptroller of Israel, The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities, July 2024, published English abstract.

Community housing costs about NIS 1,700 a month, against NIS 13,000

The State Comptroller of Israel reported the pair as a single comparison, and it is the Ministry of Welfare’s own cost data for the services the Ministry funds. On those figures community housing costs roughly an eighth of the alternative setting per month. The audit states the comparison and does not break either figure into components such as staffing, rent or medical support.

What do the Comptroller’s two monthly cost figures count?

Both are averages of monthly service cost, published by the State Comptroller of Israel from the Ministry of Welfare’s own figures for its own programmes, and both carry “about” in the source. Neither is a price a household pays, a per-person total across a period of care, or a lifetime cost.

• The NIS 1,700 is the average monthly cost of community housing services.
• The NIS 13,000 is the average monthly cost of the alternative setting the Ministry compares with it.
• The published abstract names no facility type, occupancy level or care intensity behind either average.
• The abstract carries no earlier-year figure for either average, so it supports no trend.

44,500 adults were eligible and about 41,000 went unserved

The State Comptroller of Israel counted about 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 as eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services, and reported that 94%, about 41,000 people, did not systematically receive the service the audit describes. The Comptroller also records about NIS 2 billion in additional budget that the government allocated to implement the law, an allocation rather than an audited disbursement.

• Eligibility base: about 44,500 adults, bounded by the 18 to 40 age band.
• Coverage share: 94%, about 41,000 people, as the audit pairs the count with the percentage.
• Budget: about NIS 2 billion, allocated by the government, on the Ministry’s own implementation of the law.

About 3,200 graduates wait a year or more for services

The State Comptroller of Israel found 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 audit also records that only about 6%, about 2,400 people, took part in the adult-life preparation programmes offered jointly by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare, both ministries reporting on their own programmes.

• About 3,200 graduates, about half of those reaching services in adulthood, wait a year or more.
• About 2,400 graduates, 6%, took part in the joint preparation programmes.
• 20% of respondents to the Comptroller’s enquiry indicated they could access a designated website or representative.
• Among those recognised as eligible and unserved, about 530, around 20%, are special education graduates with intellectual developmental disability, and about 820, about 32%, have autism. Those two shares are of the unserved group, not of the 44,500.

The audit publishes no count of people in each setting

The State Comptroller of Israel published the two average monthly costs and the eligibility and coverage counts, and published no figure for how many adults with disabilities live in community housing and how many in the alternative setting. The eligibility count does not support such a split, and none is derived here. A separate July 2024 Comptroller audit of the state’s public housing stock reports about 48,000 apartments in 2023 against about 54,000 in 2018, a different programme with different eligibility.

• Published: the two average monthly costs, the eligibility count, the coverage share, the waiting and programme-participation figures.
• Not published in this audit: a count of residents by setting, a per-person total cost, or a component breakdown of either average.

Which figures here may not be added together?

The 20% and 32% subgroup shares belong to the unserved group and not to the 44,500 eligible adults, and their implied bases differ from each other, so they may not be added into a share of the whole. The 6% and its about 2,400 people belong to the special education graduate population, a different base again. Every cost and count in the audit carries “about” and stays an approximation. The cost figures are the Ministry of Welfare’s own data for its own services, published by the State Comptroller, and the abstract read here is the Comptroller’s published English summary rather than the full chapter.

Questions readers ask

What does the NIS 1,700 figure cover?

The State Comptroller of Israel reports about NIS 1,700 as the average monthly cost of community housing services, on the Ministry of Welfare’s own data, and publishes no breakdown into components.

Is the NIS 13,000 a nursing home price?

The State Comptroller records it as the average monthly cost of the alternative setting the Ministry of Welfare compares with community housing, and names no facility type or price list in the published abstract.

How many adults are covered by the audit?

The State Comptroller counted about 44,500 adults with disabilities aged 18 to 40 as eligible to receive Ministry of Welfare services.

What share of eligible adults went unserved?

The State Comptroller reported 94%, about 41,000 people, as not systematically receiving the service the audit describes.

How long do special education graduates wait?

The State Comptroller found about half of those who reach welfare services in adulthood, about 3,200 people, receive them only a year or more after graduation.

How many took part in adult-life preparation programmes?

The State Comptroller records about 6%, about 2,400 people, as having taken part in the programmes the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare run jointly.

Can eligible adults find out whom to contact?

The State Comptroller reported that 20% of respondents indicated they could access a designated website or representative.

Which disabilities are most common among the unserved?

The State Comptroller published about 530, around 20%, as special education graduates with intellectual developmental disability and about 820, about 32%, as having autism, both shares of the unserved group rather than of the 44,500.

How much money did the government allocate?

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 people live in each setting?

The State Comptroller publishes no such count in this audit, and the eligibility figure does not supply one.

Does any Israeli audit price institutional medical care?

The State Comptroller’s 2022 follow-up audit of the Israel Prison Service recorded 274,600 inmate medical check-ups in 2020 among about 14,000 inmates held, and publishes no per-inmate cost.

Are the two cost figures comparable with prices published elsewhere?

The State Comptroller states them as average monthly service costs in shekels, on the Ministry of Welfare’s own data, and no currency conversion or restatement is made here.

Sources

• State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. The Ministry of Welfare’s Treatment of Adults with Disabilities. Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, July 2024, published English abstract, 16 pages. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
• State Comptroller of Israel, 2024. Purchase and Sale of Public Housing Apartments, Follow-up Audit. Chapter 204, Ministry of Construction and Housing, July 2024, published English abstract, 14 pages. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.
• State Comptroller of Israel, 2022. The Medical System for Treating Inmates in the Israel Prison Service, Follow-up Audit. Chapter 210, Ministry of Public Security and Israel Prison Service, May 2022. library.mevaker.gov.il. Official or primary record.