Millions Allocated to Increase Salaries of Social Workers at Boarding Schools
Israel's Ministry of Welfare is investing 20 million Shekels to raise salaries for social workers at boarding schools for children from troubled homes.
Jerusalem, 10 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Security has formulated a budget response of 20 million Shekels ($6.9 million) to increase the salaries of counselors at boarding schools for children from troubled homes, despite the horizontal cuts in the ministry’s budgets, in order not to delay the start of the process. This is the first step in raising salaries, and additional steps are expected in the coming months, if the budgetary issues are resolved.
At the same time, the ministry is leading a series of steps to strengthen the status of instructors and deepen professional training:
Recognition of training work for the purpose of a preferential work grant – approximately 25% of the training work in boarding schools is recognized for the purpose of a preferential work grant for discharged soldiers by the National Insurance Institute (after 150 days of work in the boarding school);
Professional support for counselors – In the past year, social workers at boarding schools were trained to obtain a certificate that professionally supports counselors in current treatment tools such as CBT and EMDR;
Resilience Groups – Resilience groups are held to accompany counselors by the Trauma Coalition and in collaboration with the public Forum.
Study funding – The ‘Beach’ program allows instructors to study for a bachelor’s degree with full funding, in a framework that includes two days of study per week alongside work with a unique envelope.
Registration for the third cycle is currently underway. And in the upcoming academic year, a prestigious two-year training program is planned, which includes boarding school management teams in the core areas of boarding school work.
