Patterns of Use of Social Services by Immigrants and their View of the Services: Findings of a 2022 Survey

Abstract

The patterns of use of social services by immigrants and the extent to which they exercise their rights are important components in the success of their absorption and integration in Israeli society. Moreover, immigrants are often in greater need of social services than the general population. Nonetheless, immigrants face various barriers to the utilization of social services and in exercising their rights, as do other disadvantaged populations. To measure immigrants’ satisfaction with social services in Israel, the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption commissioned the Outcomes Team at the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute, to carry out this study.

Objectives

  1. To map the patterns of use of social services provided by the government and the local authorities by immigrants from different language/cultural groups and according to their length of time in Israel, and to assess the quality of those services from the viewpoint of the immigrant and their contribution to the immigrant’s quality of life and integration in various facets of life.
  2. To develop a tool for the ongoing measurement of the use of social services by the immigrants and their view of the services’ level of quality and contribution, and to refine the tool after its initial use.

Methods

The study was carried out among immigrants from five different language/cultural groups: Russian speakers, French speakers, Ethiopian immigrants (Amharic and Tigrit speakers), English speakers and Spanish speakers, all of whom arrived in Israel after 1993 and who are today aged 18+. Ministry of Immigration and Absorption immigrants, who are eligible for the services of the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, were also included. The survey included 1,592 respondents. The data was gathered in a telephone survey based on lists provided by the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption. An online survey (self-report) was distributed by email and SMS text messages to participants who could not be contacted by telephone. To ensure that the findings were representative of the sampled population, they were weighted relative to the size and characteristics of the research population. The data were gathered during the period from November 2022 to March 2023.

Main Findings

The needs of the immigrants: 35.6% of the immigrants reported significant or very significant housing needs (housing conditions and location); 34.6% reported significant or very significant financial need; and 30% reported significant or very significant difficulties in Hebrew.

Differences in needs across immigrant groups: Ethiopian immigrants and their children have greater needs than the other groups (except in Hebrew fluency). The children of Ethiopian immigrants have greater needs in the category of “a feeling of belonging to the community and Israeli society” than English and Spanish speakers.

Satisfaction with services (percentage of those who are satisfied or very satisfied):

High level of satisfaction: Religious – 71.7%; Health – 64.4%; Education – 64.2%; Absorption – 57.3%

Intermediate level of satisfaction: Police – 49.4%, National Insurance Institute – 47.8%; Welfare – 40.4%

Low level of satisfaction: Employment and business assistance (not from the Ministry of Absorption) – 34.9%

Identity and Absorption:

  • 89.1% of the of the respondents reported that they feel that Israel is their country to a great extent or to a very great extent.
  • Russian speakers and the children of Ethiopian immigrants reported less on the feeling that “Israel is my country” (79.4% and 85.7%, respectively) relative to the other immigrant groups.
  • The greater the extent to which an immigrant feels that his/her standard of living in Israel is better than in his country of origin, the greater the chance that he feels that “Israel is my country”.
  • The lower the reports were on most of their needs, the more the immigrants felt that Israel is their country.
  • The more satisfaction the immigrant reported with the various types of services (apart from employment services), the stronger he/she felt that Israel is his country.
  • 6% of the respondents reported that they are certain or fairly certain that they will remain in Israel for the foreseeable future.
  • The higher the respondent’s level of satisfaction with all types of services (apart from employment and welfare services), the more likely that he/she intends to stay in Israel for the foreseeable future.

Main Recommendations

  • It is recommended that more information be provided to immigrants about the services and how to access them, and that they be made more accessible (physically and language-wise), since lack of information and accessibility were the main reasons reported for low level of use or lack of use of services.
  • It is recommended that special attention be given to improving services for Ethiopian immigrants and their children, since they reported on more problems and difficulties (needs) than the other groups in almost all of the categories.
  • Due to time and budget constraints, it was not possible to carry out all of the possible analyses of the data gathered, and more knowledge could be gained from the existing data. Therefore, it is recommended that further analyses be carried out that focus on specific immigrant groups, service types, service characteristics and respondent characteristics.
  • In order to achieve ongoing improvement in services for immigrants, to tailor them to the changing circumstances, and to monitor the efficiency of steps taken to modify them, it is recommended that the measurement of immigrants’ satisfaction with social services and the evaluation of their contribution should be ongoing and carried out at regular intervals.

Citing suggestion: Tepper, Y. (2023). Patterns of Use of Social Services by Immigrants and their View of the Services: Findings of a 2022 Survey. S-224-23. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. (Hebrew)