State of Israel

 

 

 

  

 

Recommendations of the Committee on the Reform of

Policy Regarding Non-employed Recipients

of Long-term Subsistence Benefits

 

 

Interim Report

Presented to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerusalem, August 2001

 

1 Elul 5861

19 August ‏2001

 

To the Honorable Rabbli Shlomo Benizri

Minister of Labor and Social Affairs

 

Re: Interim Report of the Committee on the Reform of Policy Regarding

Non-employed Recipients of Long-term Subsistence Benefits

 

The primary goal of social policy is to ensure all households in the population a fair existence, economic opportunity, and social integration. There is broad consensus that these are best obtained in the active work force.

 

At present, households whose head is of working age but which have low or no income are assured of minimal subsistence in two “markets” which, in effect, compete with one another:  the labor and business market, and the support market (i.e. various subsistence pensions and attendant benefits).  The correct balance between these two markets can only be ensured if they are reconciled so as to clearly prefer the immediate and future subsistence available from the labor and business market.  In turn, correct balance will ensure higher rates of participation in the civilian labor and business market, more appropriate social security, and more effective social integration.

 

To date, the government has done extensive and thorough professional administrative work, and has made great strides in examining existing policy and the desired direction for care of non-employed recipients of long-term subsistence benefits.  Furthermore, it has achieved the necessary cooperation among those involved in this effort in Israel, and with experts from abroad.

 

The Committee discussed this issue thoroughly and at length.  It recommends beginning a controlled experiment, in preparation for the reform of policy regarding the return to employment, with caution and after thorough preparation, as befits a matter so sensitive to the public.

 

As part of the experiment, it will be necessary to urgently examine how to make  maximum improvements in the employment test for eligibility for subsistence benefits, both by effectively using the time, skills and effort of benefit recipients, and by effectively using the resources of the State and existing market mechanisms to enable subsistence benefit recipients to improve their chances of becoming quickly and permanently integrated into the labor market, to the extent possible.

 

In order to facilitate implementation of the experiment, amendments must be made in the legislation, based on the recommendations formulated to this end by an inter-ministerial team of legal advisors.

 

The Committee believes this experiment has a significant chance of succeeding, based on the interim recommendations presented in this report.  The Committee has seen fit to emphasize certain recommendations, whose implementation is essential to the experiment’s success.  These are listed below (not necessarily in order of importance):

 

ü       Create an occupational safety net that will ensure social security during the transition from dependence to independence – i.e. continued assurance of subsistence benefits to the eligible population, conditional upon participation in a system of employment activity.  At the same time, it is recommended that budgets that are no longer needed for the payment of benefits, be rerouted to employment support services, within limits (and using measures of success and risk control).

 

ü       Plan the experiment carefully and in detail, relying on the best experts from Israel and abroad to provide the maximum information, experience and expertise.

 

ü       Continue close, balanced cooperation among the government agencies that serve the non-employed population and the Ministry of Finance, with the broad backing of the government.

 

ü       Maintain maximum flexibility in using tools and services to care for individuals, so as to facilitate the (controlled) changes that become necessary during the course of the experiment as a result of complete familiarity with the  participant population and the needs of employers in the experimental regions.

 

ü       To supplement the new employment test for eligibility, implement financial incentives that will encourage individuals to seek employment.  At the same time, avoid creating financial incentives for employees who earn low wages and do not receive long-term subsistence benefits to become dependent on the system of benefits.

 

ü       Establish a system of extensive professional promotion, and enlist the community, including the business communities in the experimental regions, in encouraging people to make the transition to non-dependence and work force participation.

 

ü       Enter into dialog with labor organizations, and secure the rights of employees of existing government organizations who currently serve the  population that will participate in the experiment.

 

ü       Perfect the process of monitoring and regulating the importation of workers from abroad, while significantly reducing the number of foreign workers. The Committee views with concern the possible continued importation of tens of thousands of workers to Israel, especially once the process of economic growth is renewed.

 

ü       Increase enforcement of the Minimum Wage Law, so as to prevent unfair competition over available jobs and harm to participants in the experiment.

 

ü       Accompany the experiment with a variety of in-depth evaluation studies of social, economic and organizational/administrative aspects of the experiment.

 

ü       Upgrade the Committee by adding public representatives of clients, employers, and the academic community.

 

In summary, the Committee sees the attempt to change the social security system, as reflected in the recommendations in this interim report, as providing a sterling opportunity to improve the well-being of non-employed recipients of long-term subsistence benefits.  The Committee hopes the experiment will be implemented at the earliest opportunity, in a cautious and controlled manner.  The Committee will monitor the experiment; on the basis of lessons learned, it will recommend broad government policy on the issue.

 

The Committee thanks all the professionals who appeared before it, thereby contributing to its efforts, as well as the organizations and citizens who voiced their opinions on the issue.   The Committee expresses its gratitude to Mrs. Judith King of the JDC-Brookdale Institute, who coordinated its work and helped prepare this report.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Professor Yossi Tamir

Committee Chair

 

 

 

Foreword

 

The experiment whose fundamental principles are presented herein as interim recommendations, was intended as an exploration of ways to improve the care of non-employed recipients of long-term subsistence benefits; its ultimate aim is their integration into fulfilling work, and hence their full integration into society.

 

People who have not been employed for an extended time become financially dependent on the public system, are often marginalized and socially excluded, and have no chance of improving their situation or making the most of various opportunities.  Many of these people would be happy to work to support themselves and their families with dignity, to be a role model for their children, and to contribute to society through their work.  Many of these people suffer from a lack of personal resources such as education, vocational skills, and the employment experience necessary to become integrated into the work force.  Those of them who are recent immigrants must also cope with the problems of becoming integrated into a new country.  The longer an individual remains outside the work force, the harder it is for him to extricate himself from a lifestyle of dependence, meet the demands of the labor market, and conform to social norms.  Deficiencies in the structure and activity of the systems that are in charge of employment also keep them from receiving the proper assistance, which would help them become integrated into the work force, instead keeping them in the cycle of dependence.

 

One of the main deficiencies of this system is its fragmented structure.  A multitude of offices and agencies deal with integration into employment, without there being any real coordination among them.  For example, the Employment Service deals with job placement and conducts the employment test to determine eligibility for benefits; the Social Security Administration conducts the residence and income tests to determine eligibility for and payment of benefits; the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for vocational training and immediate jobs; the Ministry of Absorption also deals with vocational training, business entrepreneurship, and job placement (for immigrants); the Ministry of Industry and Commerce helps employers improve the human capital of their employees; and the Ministry of Education is responsible for supplemental adult education.  In addition, at present there is no coordination between the agencies responsible for vocational training and integration into employment, and those that provide adjunct services that are meant to help non-employed persons enter the work force, such as child care services, transportation, and small business loans.  In effect, it may be said that there is no comprehensive program that has the distinct goal of integrating non-employed persons into employment.  Moreover, in Israel as in other countries, the system lacks the tools and means to meet the needs of employers.  This has led to the “easy solution” of importing foreign workers.

 

The goal of the experimental program, “Opportunity for Integration into Employment”, is to provide appropriate opportunities for non-employed recipients of long-term subsistence benefits to extricate themselves from their current situation, by pooling resources and services for this population, and channeling them in a flexible and functional manner toward integration into the work world.

 

Underlying the experiment are new organizational and service provision approaches.  The approach to service provision is client-centered and comprehensive – that is, it sees the non-employed person as a client whose needs and abilities should be met by the most appropriate possible solution, designed with his cooperation and consent and with the help of employers.  The organizational approach sees an individual’s integration into employment as a multi-stage process, from early diagnosis, through the necessary improvement and adaptation of his education and skills, to his placement in a job, including assistance during the initial stages of integration into the work place.  This requires flexible, personal attention to barriers to integration into employment that may not be due to his personal resources – such as arranging for care of young children, or arranging transportation to a distant job.  Administration of the experiment is innovative in its concentrating all treatment, resources, and necessary services in one place:  the employment center.

 

The point of departure for “Opportunity for Integration into Employment” is a belief in the shared responsibility of the State and the individual for integration into employment.  The State coordinates all efforts to generate opportunities for employment solutions that will help an individual find work in which he can maximize his personal potential, and the individual is obligated to invest the time and effort necessary to promoting this goal.  At the same time, the State continues to be responsible for providing a safety net, in the form of subsistence benefits and employment solutions, until the individual is able to become integrated into the open market.

 

In order to increase the chances of the experiment’s success, various agents in the community – such as employers, voluntary organizations, and representatives of clients – will be mobilized.  In the framework of an advisory committee to each employment center, they will monitor the experiment; each will contribute his or her unique perspective to obtaining the experiment’s goal.  It is hoped that improvement in the welfare of the individual and his family will contribute to growth and well-being in the community and businesses, as well.

 

The program recommended below was formulated by a multi-professional Committee comprising representatives of the government, social workers, and the academic community.  The model formulated by the Committee is an Israeli one, whose principles take into consideration the social and ethical values of Israeli society.  It should be emphasized that while the recommended program has draw on the knowledge and experience of similar programs implemented in Europe and the United States, and even adopted certain components of them, it is in no way a replicate of any program being implemented abroad.  The moniker, “Wisconsin Program”, which was given the Israeli program even before the recommendations of the Committee had been publicized, is misleading.  It ignores essential differences between these recommendations and the American program, which is anchored in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity and Reconciliation Act of 1996, and which is implemented in 50 states, with variations from state to state.

 

For example, according to the American approach, integration into employment is the responsibility of the individual.  If an individual does not meet this responsibility by taking advantage of the opportunities provided him by the government within a given number of years set in law, he is expelled from the public support system.  In contrast, according to the Israeli approach, the State is not only obligated to help the individual improve his skills and find work that makes use of these skills, but also to continue providing him with an occupational safety net in the form of subsistence benefits, without any time limitation, until he becomes integrated into employment.  A person who has found a job but leaves it for any reason can return to the employment center and re-examine his eligibility for benefits.

 

The following are the principal components of the American model that have been adopted by the Committee:

 

ü       Requiring the benefit recipient to visit the employment center (rather than a branch of the Employment Service or the Social Security Administration) and participate in employment activities, as determined in his personal program.  The right to continue to receive benefits is combined with the right to take advantage of the opportunities that the government makes available to him, in return for his meeting the requirements of a new, more sophisticated and promising employment test.

 

ü       The preparation by a “case manager”, in cooperation with the client and with his consent, of a personal program to promote the client’s employment.  The case manager will see the client through all stages of the process.

 

ü       The provision of a continuum of services at a “one-stop center”, which coordinates the tools, authority and responsibility for the process of helping the client return to work, and determines his eligibility for benefits.

 

ü       The development of contacts and close cooperation with employers in the  experimental regions, and practical consideration of their needs.

 

In order to ultimately formulate an optimal model or models, each of the four employment centers established in the framework of the experiment will be operated with a different managerial approach.  All of the agencies managing the experimental centers will be reimbursed and budgeted in the same manner, according to a pre-determined method.  The staff of each center will be composed of professionals who are committed to the experimental population and imbued with the desire to help give non-employed persons an opportunity to better their situation.  At the conclusion of the experiment, an attempt will be made to identify the successful components of each model of implementation, and to compile from them a model or models that are most appropriate to the conditions in Israel.

 

It is recommended that the experiment be under government and public surveillance and control at the national and regional levels, through an experimental administration, external boards of appeal, an expanded Reform Committee, and advisory committees to the employment centers.

 

The Committee wishes to emphasize that, as part of the experiment, financial incentives should be offered for entering the natural labor market, out of concern for the well-being of families surviving on long-term subsistence benefits.  These incentives should take into consideration existing incentives to employees, without ignoring the situation of employees who earn low wages.  The success of the program in Israel will be measured not only by a decrease in the number of people receiving subsistence benefits, but also and primarily by the number of clients who become integrated into appropriate employment, and by the improvement, over time, in their well-being and that of their children as a result of their integration into employment.  However, the Committee recommends that the issue of changes in the method of calculating the benefit not be part of the experiment.

 

Lastly, the Committee stresses that while the experiment will ensure that its clients are engaged in employment activity, the experiment’s success will also be influenced by market growth and a concomitant increase in employment opportunities.  Furthermore, the experiment’s success will be affected by actions taken to quickly reduce the dimensions of importation of foreign workers.

 

 

                                                            * * *

 

The interim recommendations presented in Chapter One below concern the principal aspects of the planning and implementation of the experiment, including the  establishment and implementation of the experimental employment centers; the population eligible for services from the experimental centers; the experimental regions; the transition from dependence on subsistence benefits to integration into employment; boards of appeal; detailed planning; implementation of the experiment; the evaluation of the experiment; surveillance and control of the experiment; the experiment administration; the changes in legislation necessary to implement the experiment; the budget necessary to plan and implement the experiment; and the implications of the importation of foreign workers for Israeli employees in the experimental regions.

 

Chapter Two presents general background on one long-term subsistence benefit – the income maintenance benefit for people of limited means – and on those who receive it.  Chapter Three presents a concise survey of similar programs for re-integrating non-employed persons into employment in various countries in the world.

 

 

 

 

Introduction

 

On 1 March 2000, former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Rabbi Eliahu Yishai, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and in consultation with the National Association of Social Workers (a position paper of this organization may be found in Appendix 1), appointed a Committee on the Reform of Policy Regarding Non-employed Recipients of Long-term Subsistence Benefits.  The Committee was headed by Professor Yossi Tamir and comprised representatives of the Employment Service, the Social Security Administration, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Association of Social Workers, and the universities.  Pursuant to three years’ comprehensive work on this issue by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Employment Service, the Social Security Administration and the Ministry of Finance, the Committee was established on the initiative of the directors-general of these agencies.  This work, which was carried out with the assistance of an external economic and administrative advisor and by learning about the situation in other western countries, generated a great deal of knowledge and fostered an understanding of the issue; it also resulted in formulation of the desired direction for action regarding the return of non-employed persons to employment. 

 

The understandings formulated and the consensus reached regarding the appointment of this Committee were noted primarily in decision TM/35 of 6 March 2000 of the Ministers’ Committee on Coordination, Administration and Auditing regarding the Employment Service – Treatment of Non-employed Persons – State Comptroller’s Report No. 43 (the text of the decision may be found in Appendix 2).  In accordance with said decision and the Committee’s letter of appointment, the decision was made to conduct an experiment.  This was to take the form of four experimental employment and placement centers to be established around the country (in the north, the south, the Tel Aviv area, and the Jerusalem area).  Underlying the activities of these experimental centers was the agreed-upon principle that participants in the experiment would be integrated into employment, education, or employment rehabilitation activities, and that this would constitute a condition of their eligibility for a subsistence benefit.  Approval of their final eligibility for the subsistence benefit would be given by authorized staff of the Social Security Administration (based on means and residence tests) and the Employment Service (based on an employment test) who would work at the centers.  The experimental centers would be operated and managed by outside, non-government experts according to an agreed-upon budget and principles.  It was also decided that the first people to be eligible for the centers’ services would be recipients of income maintenance benefits; thereafter, recipients of other benefits would become eligible as determined by the Committee.

 

In accordance with the decision of the Ministers’ Committee and as stipulated in the letter of appointment to the Committee, it will be the responsibility of the Committee, after the experiment has been implemented for approximately two years and based on the lessons learned, to recommend policy regarding the placement in employment of non-employed, recipients of  long-term subsistence benefits. This requires continued detailed planning of the experiment’s implementation, and then presentation of the detailed plan to the Committee for its consideration.  The Committee will monitor the experiment (approved by the government), but its implementation and supervision will be the responsibility of an administration specially established for this purpose.

 

This interim report represents a preliminary statement of principle only; it may serve as a guideline that may promote completion of detailed planning and implementation of the experiment.

 

It should be emphasized that, to date, and as stipulated in its letter of appointment, the Committee has concentrated on recommendations directly related to policy regarding treatment of the population eligible for experimental services (e.g., aspects of the employment test for eligibility).  It has not formulated detailed recommendations with regard to other factors that may contribute to the integration of this population into employment, such as the method of calculating the benefit, enforcing the Minimum Wage Law, reducing the importation of foreign workers, and steps to prevent an increase in unemployment and encourage growth.  However, it is possible that before, during or after the experiment the Committee will see fit to address these and other issues, as well.

Chapter I: Interim Recommendations

 

 

The Establishment of Experimental Employment Centers and Their Operation

 

1. Experimental employment centers will be established in four regions; those eligible for services will be referred directly to the experimental centers by local representatives of the Social Security Administration or the Employment Service.  The centers will function as “one-stop job centers” that handle all stages of responsibility for and treatment of clients – from filing an application for a subsistence benefit to integration into employment in the natural or protected market. So as to enable the centers to function as “one-stop job centers”, the officials of the Social Security Administration who are authorized to determine eligibility for benefits (using a residence and a means test, and in accordance with the grounds for eligibility and family composition), and the officials of the Employment Service who are authorized to determine eligibility for benefits (using an employment test) will work at the centers, where they will determine final eligibility for benefits.  Additional professionals will work at the centers.  Those in the target population who apply for the benefit will no longer need to go to the branches of the Social Security Administration or the Employment Service, as all care of them will be handled by the employment centers. During the experiment, benefits will actually be paid through the existing payment mechanism of the Social Security Administration, in accordance with the rules of the experiment (e.g., earmarking a separate budget to cover benefits for the experimental population).

 

2. The centers will offer their clients an opportunity to improve their personal and employment skills through employment activities, which will be matched to the health and physical status of each participant.  These activities will be geared to enabling each client to fulfill his potential, to the extent possible, to become integrated into appropriate employment, preferably in the open market.

 

3. The specific employment activities chosen will be part of a personal employment plan set by a case manager in cooperation with the client.  This plan will be formulated within three months from the date of admission to the center.  The case manager will present the client with all possible alternatives for employment, and combinations thereof; the client may also suggest alternatives. He may choose from among these alternatives, taking into consideration the long-term goals of his personal program.  The client will be required to agree to his personal plan in writing; his signed agreement will constitute a contract between himself and the center.  The case manager will personally monitor the client’s compliance with the plan, and update it as needed.  The client’s agreement to and participation in the activities set in his personal plan will grant him eligibility for a benefit (for those who meet the eligibility criteria by law, excluding the current employment test).  An Employment Service official will authorize the benefit using the employment test, based on the case manager’s recommendation.  There will be no a priori limitation on the length of time that a client can remain in the care of the center.  A client who was hired but then fired may again use the center’s services.

 

4. The Committee recommends that the centers provide clients with employment activity equivalent to one full work week, and in any case not less than 15 weekly hours, but not more than 42.5 weekly hours.

 

5. The centers will ensure that each participant has employment or employment activities, or a combination thereof, as will be described below. The following are among the employment activities that will be offered by the centers:
   • an intake interview at the center
   • vocational assessment, including assessment during work (for a limited time)
   • fostering of preparedness to work and work environment, and improvement of functioning and behavior on the job (e.g., meeting deadlines, inter-personal communication, proper attire, etc.)
   • a chance to gain basic vocational training and expand basic education (e.g., Hebrew and English language, mathematics, computer literacy)
   • training in specific vocational skills, including in-service training (for a limited time)
   • activity on behalf of the community (in non-profit frameworks only), with the aim of promoting the client’s integration into employment and teaching him work habits (on condition that he participate in additional job activity to improve himself); the client will not replace a permanent employee, and the activity will not last for longer than six months, consecutively or sporadically
   • job rehabilitation
   • teaching job search skills and how to use support services to find a job

 

These services will be provided either by those operating the center or by expert outside agencies whose services have been purchased by those operating the center.  Activities will be held in and outside the center.

 

Integration into employment may involve any of the following, in descending order of preference:

• work in the open market
• temporary “test” work:  work for a pre-determined period of time, intended to test the client’s ability and prepare him to engage in routine work at a place of employment in the open market
• supported employment: employment in the open market for people with disabilities, supervised and monitored by a mentor
• sheltered employment: employment for people with (permanent and temporary) disabilities in a sheltered place of employment

 

The centers are obligated to send clients to jobs appropriate to their health and physical ability.  Effort will be made to integrate each client into employment that will enable him to maximize his personal and professional skills, given the jobs available in the region.

 

6. It is the centers’ responsibility to remove the specific barriers that prevent a client’s integration into employment activities or a job, for example by subsidizing transportation services or child care, or by subsidizing adaptations for the disabled on the job, according to standards and within budgetary limitations that will be set for this purpose.

 

7. No change will be made in the means and residence tests currently conducted by the Social Security Administration to determine eligibility for subsistence benefits.  However, the current format of eligibility for (full or partial) benefits based on the employment test, will change.  Rules that will be set specifically for the experiment will enable eligible clients to adjust gradually to the increase in employment activity; however, eligibility will be revoked or denied clients who do not cooperate in fulfilling their personal plan.  This will be done with the aim of preventing non-cooperation from becoming a recurrent pattern of behavior.  At the same time, renewed cooperation on the client’s part will be taken into consideration. The Committee discussed alternatives for rules governing the circumstances under which case managers would recommend revoking eligibility; these will be reexamined during detailed planning, and will be publicized prior to the experiment.

 

8. The experimental centers will provide employment support services for the entire community in the experimental region, according to rules that will be set.  This will take advantage of the centers’ infrastructure, and benefit the population that is not participating in the experiment.

 

9. To the extent possible, the centers will simulate an actual, regular place of employment, so as to enable clients to quickly adjust to functioning properly in a work environment.

 

 

The Target Population Eligible for Services from the Experimental Centers

 

1. The target population eligible for services from the experimental centers will comprise applicants for and recipients of long-term subsistence benefits, including income maintenance benefits and general disability benefits, and recidivist recipients of unemployment benefits.

 

In granting eligibility for services from the experimental centers, the Committee did not find any substantive reason to distinguish among the applicants for and recipients of the various types of long-term subsistence benefit.  Rather, the Committee felt it appropriate to treat the entire working-age population with equanimity, regardless of the type of benefit received.  However, at this stage the Committee recommends that only part of the  population of working-age benefit applicants and recipients participate in the experiment.  In the future, the Committee will consider recommending the inclusion in the experiment of additional eligible populations, depending on the experiment’s progress, budgetary sources, and the like.

 

Moreover, the Committee has decided to include in the experiment groups that are at present exempt from an employment test, such as mothers of children ages three to seven years, and people who, in the framework of eligibility for income maintenance benefits, have been classified as being “unplaceable”.  The Committee believes that the system should strive to give all people of working-age who subsist on benefits an equal opportunity to improve their educational and vocational qualifications, and to receive intensive personal guidance that will help them function in the labor market and ultimately be hired to do productive work.  This is particularly significant for women in general, and mothers of working age in particular, many of whom have had little or no experience in the labor market.  The aim is to give these women the skills that will enable them to enter into employment and, with time, to advance.  However, the Committee recognizes the special difficulties of mothers of very young children (up to age three), and therefore has decided not to require them to take an employment test, while enabling them to be eligible for the services of the employment center, at their prerogative. 

 

2. The experiment will include all those who are eligible for a benefit at the start of the experiment, or who become eligible during the experiment.

 

3. Participation in the experiment will be obligatory for members of the target population who live in the regions where the experiment will take place.  The Committee believes that given the immense effort and resources that will be invested in providing services to participants, it is reasonable to expect participants to cooperate and comply with the rules that will be set by the employment centers.

 

4. The Committee is aware that certain sub-groups of the target population will need special solutions, which may need to be provided outside the framework of the experimental centers. It will make its recommendations in this regard before, during, and after the experiment.

 

5. In accordance with the decision of the Ministers’ Committee, sub-groups of the target population will join the experiment gradually, as follows:  During the first stage, the experiment will encompass people who receive income maintenance benefits because they are “unplaceable”.  During the second stage, the experiment will encompass people who receive income maintenance benefits on the grounds of joblessness, or being the mother of a child under age seven.  During the third stage, the experiment will expand to encompass all other applicants for and recipients of income maintenance, unemployment, general disability, and other benefits.  The date for implementation of each stage of the experiment will be determined during detailed planning.  The Committee stresses that the solution or treatment path designed for each participant will be based on his needs, and not on the grounds for eligibility.

 

 

Experimental Regions

 

1. The experiment will be conducted in four regions (defined as a geographic area containing one or more towns):  the north, the south, the Tel Aviv area, and the Jerusalem area.

 

2. In accordance with government decision 2198 of 16.8.2000 (Appendix 4), during the first stage of the experiment, the four centers will serve at least 6,000 clients from among the target population.  During the second stage, the centers will cover a total of at least 14,000 clients per month, or about 3,500 clients per center per month.  Experience in other countries indicates that this is the optimal number of clients to ensure the centers’ continued organizational-financial viability.

 

3. Each experimental region will be matched with a parallel region, which will serve as a control region for the purpose of evaluating the experiment.

 

4. The choice of experimental and control regions was discussed at length by the Committee.  It is the professional recommendation of the Research and Planning Administration of the Social Security Administration that the experimental regions be chosen based on objective professional standards.  Based on this recommendation, the statistical method of factor analysis was used on towns that met these baseline conditions of the experiment: having a population of at least 2,000 residents and at least 100 recipients of income maintenance benefits (grounds for eligibility included in the definition of the target population).  Factor analysis facilitated the selection of pairs of experimental and control towns whose target populations are similar, relative to the size and age composition of their total populations.  This will make it possible to compare the experimental and control towns, and thereby measure the success of the experiment.

 

The following criteria were considered when choosing pairs of experimental and control regions:

·         the proportion of income maintenance benefit recipients ages 20-59 (for each of the relevant grounds for eligibility) in the town’s population in this age group

·         the proportion of immigrants among the population ages 20-59 in the town (in Jewish towns)

·         the proportion of each age and gender group within the towns’ population ages 20-59

·         the towns’ household composition: single, single with children, couple, couple with children

 

Each pair of experimental and control towns will be in the same geographic region, to ensure that they have a similar labor market.  The Research and Planning Administration presented the Committee with a list of towns from which to choose groups of experimental towns, and groups of control towns.[1] The list of possible towns will be presented to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and reexamined; the final choice of towns will be made during detailed planning.  Prior to the start of the experiment, a list of the (experimental) towns and regions chosen will be publicized.

 

 

The Transition from Dependency on Subsistence Benefits to Integration into Employment

 

The Committee is aware that the transition from dependence on income maintenance benefits to employment, given the type, amount and structure of the benefits currently provided, is liable to initially be financially detrimental to the client.  During detailed planning, the Committee will weigh and make recommendations regarding how to continue to provide supplemental benefits or an alternative to them, and how to implement a gradual reduction of the supplemental benefits.  The aim of this is to ensure that the individual maintains his standard of living and has an economic incentive to seek employment in the open market, while considering existing incentives for employees and avoiding the creation of incentives for low wage earners to prefer becoming dependent on benefits.  

 

 

Boards of Appeal

 

In order to secure the surveillance and regulation of the operation of the employment centers, the Committee recommends establishing an external, unaffiliated board of appeal in each experimental region.  The boards will be appointed and will function according to the following rules:

1. Anyone who believes he has been done a disservice or otherwise harmed by the decision of a case manager or Employment Service official may petition the board of appeal.
2. Anyone using the services of a center may file a complaint with said board, to ensure the quality of services.
3. A petition to a board of appeal must be made within seven days of the incident under dispute.  The board will discuss the appeal or complaint no later than 21 days from the date of the petition, on condition that the petitioner be present at the discussion.  If the board overturns a center’s decision, the board’s decision regarding eligibility will be treated as if it were made at the same time as the original decision.
4. The centers will be required to inform clients of their right to petition the board of appeal, and the appropriate procedures for doing so.
5. The boards of appeal will be appointed by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and the Minister of Justice.  Each one will be chaired by a justice emeritus, assisted by a social worker  and an expert in the field of employment.

 

 

Surveillance and Regulation of the Experiment

 

In order to ensure that clients receive appropriate service and are duly respected, surveillance and regulation of the experimental centers will be ensured in the following ways:

• Social Security Administration officials will retain the authority to grant eligibility for subsistence benefits, and Employment Service officials will retain the authority to approve employment tests for the target population.
• The external boards of appeal will be independent of the centers.
• Clear rules and procedures will be defined in detailed operating manuals, in accordance with legislative prescriptions (these manuals will be written during detailed planning, in consultation with the Committee).
• An advisory committee will be established adjacent to each center, and will comprise representatives from the community – e.g., of employers, service providers, clients, and the center.  The committee’s role will be limited to providing consultation and feedback to the director of the center.
• The administration of the experiment will constantly monitor all aspects of the centers’ operation, including finances.
• Surveys of client satisfaction will be conducted on a regular basis.

 

 

Detailed Planning, Implementation of the Experiment, and the Evaluation Study

 

The sub-committee on implementing the experiment worked with a summary outline of the experimental reform, which covered the detailed planning, implementation and evaluation of the experiment, and was agreed upon by the Employment Service Administration and the Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance before the Committee began its work (Appendix 5).  The Committee addressed the sub-committee’s summary, stipulating the following clarifications, emphases and recommendations:

1. Because of the urgency of planning in detail and promoting the experiment, and given the possibly complex legal requirements regarding the structure and authority of the administration that will monitor and supervise the experiment, the Committee recommends that the relevant government ministries renew posthaste the contract for outside consultation services regarding the detailed planning, implementation and evaluation of the experiment – even prior to the establishment of the administration. 

 

2. As detailed planning precedes implementation of the experiment, it should be conducted in consultation and coordination with the agencies that will be implementing the experiment, and not independent of them.  Detailed planning will entail, in part, conducting preliminary surveys and sample diagnoses of the target population, preparing structural specifications for the centers, recruiting and training directors, writing the operating manuals for the four centers, which will detail their operation methods, and establishing a system of surveillance.

 

3. It is recommended that th