Israel Works: Philosophy, Principles & Goals
For decades, the State of Israel has provided income support to those citizens who are without employment, or whose earnings are below the national minimum income for subsistence. Under this approach, the Government largely focused its resources on meeting citizens’ financial needs.
In designing Mehalev, the nation’s first Welfare-to-Work Pilot Program, the Government has partnered with internationally proven companies and their local counterparts to implement a very different concept for helping citizens satisfy their financial needs. This is a bold reform based upon the core philosophy of work.
Not only may Pilot region residents with proven financial need receive assistance from the Government, the Pilot Program will also provide a wide array of intensive supportive services to assist Participants in becoming economically independent. Thus,In return for this increased investment the participant is required to take personal responsibility for his, or her, actions and make a good-faith effort to move toward long-term self-sufficiency.
To understand the operations of Mehalev, one must first understand the philosophy, principles and goals of the Pilot Program.
Principles upon which the program is based
To achieve these goals, the State of Israel adopted some basic principles as outlined below:
Principles :
1 for those who can work, working should lead to self-sufficiency. Those who are not working full-time should invest time and effort in activities that prepare for and result in job placement.
2 All individuals, of every capacity, should work to the best of their abilities in order to support themselves and their families. Everybody can do some constructive work, even if constrained by physical or other limitations.
3 Welfare Payments should be seen as a temporary measure, not as a permanent way of life.
4 The Program is based on the “work first” concept.
5 Individuals seeking Welfare Payments should accept any suitable and available employment, subject to the individual’s health and physical condition.
6 Individuals should accept responsibility for seeking and improving employment opportunities.
7 Work Support services, should be available to Participants and former Participants in order to work, not only to those receiving Welfare Payments.
8 Employment Centers should be ‘one-stop agencies’, where the Participants find, all the necessary health ,government , and case management services needed.
11 Each Employment Center will serve a specific Pilot Area. The Employment Center must take responsibility for all Participant Households and potential Participants within the said area during the period of the Pilot Program.
Essential Role of Employment Centers
Employment Centers play a critical role as the hub for coordinating service delivery under the program. The organizing principle for the Employment Centers under the Pilot Program is Work First. Under the Work First concept, in exchange for welfare payments, Participants are required to take personal responsibility for participating fully on an immediate and ongoing basis in work-focused activities intended to accelerate movement toward unsubsidized employment at the earliest possible opportunity.
The combination of activities and services will assist Participants in avoiding welfare, where possible. In those cases where Participants are already receiving welfare payments, the combination of activities and services will be designed to transition Participants from welfare payments to earnings paid by private employers as quickly as possible.
The Rungs of the Employment Ladder
As mentioned above, work is central to the Work First model. Given this, Mehalev incorporates levels of work into each Participant’s activities and Personal Plan. There are three levels, or rungs, of the Employment Ladder:
• Unsubsidized Employment
• Community Service Experience
• Specialized Supported Work Activities
Unsubsidized Employment
Under the Work First premise of the Welfare-to-Work Program, each Participant must be placed at the highest possible rung of the Employment Ladder. Participants should be assigned 30-40 hours of work-related activities during the course of each week.
Although some Participants may be assigned to the rungs below unsubsidized employment, Agens Israel will concentrate its efforts on continually identifying additional labor market opportunities and re-assessing Participants’ strengths in an attempt to match employers and Participants at the earliest possible point in the service delivery.
According to the Government, the organization must attempt to refer Participants to activities within a 60-kilometer radius of his or her permanent address. Agens Israel may refer a Participant to an unsubsidized opportunity, or work activities, beyond the 60-kilometer radius of his or her permanent address.
|
