Dr. Yoa Sorek

The overarching objective of this review is to provide information collected in various Western countries in order to optimize the development of a policy for treating and helping Israeli families engaged in separation and divorce processes. The topics of this review include legislation and treatment policies related to these families, as well as families with parental conflicts more generally; the types of interventions provided to these families; tailored and accessible interventions for families from diverse demographic groups; case studies of integrative service models for these families; barriers and challenges and best practices in serving them.

This integrative study is designed to consolidate insights from the accumulated products of a decade of research commissioned by Ashalim in the field of education in a format accessible to professionals and decision makers .

The objective of the review was to learn about the scope of parent and child foster care worldwide and examine best practices.

The primary objectives of this study were to provide information that will help policymakers expand the policy of treating bereaved families and apply it to all families with children under 18 coping with civilian loss and bereavement and to optimize practices in this area. An additional objective was to evaluate the work of the support centers from a variety of aspects, including professional practices and the perceptions of the professional staff regarding the work carried out in the centers.

On October 7, approximately 300,000 reservists were called up by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). During the first week of war, schools and pre-schools all over the country were closed and even a month after the outbreak of the war schools in many parts of the country had not returned to their routines. All over […]

The review included a systematic review of the relevant international literature, academic papers, and gray literature (policy documents, evaluation studies, websites of service providers, and more) that explored various aspects of the services provided by the shelters and the experiences of the women and children in the shelters. The information was collected from June 2022 to December 2022.

The overarching objective of the study is to provide policymakers with information that would help optimize the work carried out in the child advocacy centers. The research questions are as follows: What are the challenges and best practice principles in operating the centers, as perceived by those involved in operating them? Are there any differences between the centers? Which? What are the implications of management of advocacy centers by a director employed by an NGO as opposed to those employed by the Ministry of Welfare? How did the COVID-19 period affect the centers’ work, and what conclusions have arisen with regard to operating the centers in times of emergency and crisis?

This review presents the unique situation of Arab youth to provide information that will help (1) develop services and tools to promote equal opportunities and optimal integration of Arab youth in the economy and society; and (2) reduce and prevent NEET among Arab youth. The objective is to establish a reference data set that will serve as a stable and reliable resource for a variety of organizations and officials, in order to plan for and discuss the needs of Arab youth in Israel, services currently available to them, and any gaps between the two. The review presents a broad range of data on various characteristics and aspects in the lives of young Arabs in Israel, and where possible, highlights differences and gaps between Arab and Jewish youth and between different groups within the Arab population

The objective of the study was to compare kinship and non-kinship foster care in two population groups (Jews and Arabs) regarding the following issues: the functioning and needs characteristics of the foster families and of the 6-13-year-old children in their care; the services provided to the foster families and the degree of satisfaction of the foster caregivers with these services; and the characteristics of the birth families and the nature of their relationship with the children and foster families. This comparison is designed to provide policymakers with information that will help them develop policies, allocate resources, and improve practices for enhancing foster care arrangements across the two population groups and foster care types in order to ensure optimal outcomes for the children and families.

The goals of this study were to conduct a summative evaluation of the Initiative and to examine (1) the development of the Initiative and its implementation during the participants’ childhood and adolescence, until the age of 18; (2) the goals of the Initiative, its strengths, the challenges involved in its implementation, and its value for the students; (3) the inputs and outputs of the initiative; (4) the outcomes of the Initiative in terms of the academic achievements of the participating students from the Hammer Darca High School and the Bait V’Gan Darca High School, as reflected in their matriculation exam scores.

The objectives of the research were to provide the program’s developers and operators with ongoing information about the challenges and successes in implementing the program, and assess its outcomes form a variety of aspects.

The goal of this review is to provide policymakers with comprehensive information about all possibilities available for realizing parenthood by singles and LGBT couples, and particularly about fertility and treatments, surrogacy, fostering and adoption.

The overreaching goal of this study is to explore the changing trends in family structure in Israel in recent decades in comparison with the trends in other developed countries and the potential implications of these changes for the welfare system.

This study was initiated by the research team at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. Its goal was to provide the decision makers with an updated picture of the status of young adults in Israel (aged 18 to 44) in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, classified according to three key topics: health status and mental state; employment and economic status; and trust in the government agencies.

The goal of this study was to examine the implementation process of the Permanent and Nurturing Family pilot program, the work practices applied, and the outcomes of the program, and thus contribute to the continued development at MOLSA of policy and social work practice for young children at risk whose parents have difficulty raising them.

This formative evaluation study was conducted to help the heads of the pilot program adapt the Parental Coordination Program to Israeli families, to examine its implementation and outcomes, and to assist policymakers in deciding on program improvements and dissemination throughout the country.

The goal of this formative evaluation was to study and describe the program’s unique work model and to examine the implementation and outcomes as perceived by the professionals and parties involved in the program.

The main goal of the study was to conduct an in-depth examination over time of implementation of the open adoption model and its principles of best practice in Israel, and to learn from the experience accumulated in recent years in the country’s “pioneering” first cases of open adoption.

The study goal was to examine the implementation process, outcomes, and implications of the Family Preservation Model pilot program and the stability of the outcomes six months after the program had ended.

The goal of the study was to learn in depth of the operations of the three EPSs implementing distinctive models in their work, and to examine the professionals’ perceptions of both the innovation of the models and the best-practice principles employed.

This document examines the operations of the extraordinary, community emergency measures implemented by BT during the lockdown period imposed during the the first wave of the pandemic in Israel (March-May 2020), in two BT locations.

Main points: The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for children and youth around the world: Its universal impact: Scholastic difficulties have increased and gaps widened; the number of children experiencing psychological distress has grown; and the phenomena of online bullying and the exploitation of minors have escalated. Its impact on children already in situations of […]

The study aims to describe the roles and work practices in the foster care services for children with disabilities and to help identify new directions for their development.

For a related article on the International Bar Association website, click here.   “None of us know how long this crisis is going to last. In many respects we are going to have to put our lives “on hold” until COVID-19 is resolved. But children’s lives – and vitally important family relationships – cannot be placed “on […]

The goal of the study was to to learn how Israel’s social service system may use research findings effectively and optimally

Citing suggestion: Sorek, Y., & Bayer-Topilsky, T. (2019). TImplementation of the Law for Promoting Family Dispute Resolutions in Israel – A National Evaluation Study. RR-792-19. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. (Hebrew)

In the past two decades, Israel’s welfare system has contended with the delivery of more effective services to at-risk children and their families while making more efficient use of its limited resources. In this period, the welfare system made notable strides even as it faced barriers and challenges, some ongoing. The Engelberg Center for Children […]

The care of children who cannot grow up with their parents due to poor parenting has until now focused essentially on the children themselves, while strengthening the functioning of the parents has not been emphasized. Without a change in their parenting, the children’s chances of remaining with their families or returning to live with their […]

The foster services in Israel are an important part of the out-of-home services at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Services (MOSAS). They are designed to meet the needs of children and adolescents under the age of 18, who are at risk and in danger due to dysfunctional parents and cannot remain in their homes. […]

This study, conducted in 2011-12, examined the implementation of foster services from the perspectives of the implementing organizations and the foster families. It reviewed the trends and changes in foster care from 2000 to 2012.

An extensive qualitative study of actual cases of two models: open adoption and fost-adoption

Upon arrival in Israel, immigrants from Ethiopia have to face complex difficulties of adjustment, particularly due to the transition from a traditional, rural society to a modern, urban society. One of the important attempts to help with the complex process of integration is Operation Atzmaut.

The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute was asked to provide research to support the initiative to increase adoption opportunities for children at risk. This report presents the first stage of the study.

Child-Parent Centers (CPCs) address children aged 5-12 suffering from emotional/behavioral problems. Their goal is to improve the children's emotional, social and behavioral functioning, the child-parent relationship, and parental care.

The study followed the pilot program throughout its implementation as a basis for formulating regulations for all of the Family Courts and for the Religious Courts, which also deal with family issues.

The goals of the evaluation were to examine how the comprehensive model was implemented, to examine implementation with regard to the organizational infrastructure, and to evaluate selected programs implemented through the comprehensive program.

The evaluation aimed to provide policymakers and service developers with information to improve implementation and as a basis for decisions on future expansion.

This report reviews the integration of Kavkazi immigrants in the areas of employment and vocational training, community development, the family, formal and informal educational, social integration of youth, youth risk behaviors and army service.