Chief of Operations & Senior Research Scholar
Children, Youth and Young Adults | COO
Chief of Operations (COO) and Senior Research Scholar, the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute (MJB), Israel’s leading center for applied social research.
Rachel Szabo-Lael has worked at MJB since 2000. She is an expert in public policy for children and youth at risk or suffering from abuse and neglect. Her expertise extends to the service provisions and programs for children at risk and for children’s well-being. Apart from her many years of work as a researcher and head of numerous studies (evaluations of services and national programs, as well as examinations of the outcomes and impact of MOLSA policy reforms), Rachel served as a consultant and member of governmental committees on topics of her specialization. Over the years, these topics were the subject of lectures she presented before local and overseas audiences.
In 2018, she was appointed the Institute’s COO and is responsible for the planning, coordination and control of MJB’s research work, and control of the work of the non-research units. Among other things, she is concerned with improving MJB’s research work and competitiveness, as well as development and strategic planning.
Rachel holds a BA in social work, and an MA and PhD in political science, all from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
She can be contacted at [email protected] or by telephone at 972-2-655-7483.
Journal Articles
Sorek, Y., Szabo-Lael, R., & Almog-Zaken, A. (2024). “Welfare used to mean darkness–Now it’s beaming with light”: Professionals and parents’ perceptions of a family preservation program in Israel. Children and Youth Services Review, 159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107524
Sorek, Y., Szabo-Lael, R., & Ben Simon, B. (2018). Changes in Israeli Foster Care Services Following Partial Privatization: the Perspective of Professionals and Policymakers. Society & welfare, 38(1), 231-261. (Hebrew)
Schmid, H., Dolev, T., & Szabo-Lael, R. (2010). Community-based programs for children at risk: The case of budget flexibility in departments of social services in Israel. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(2), 178-184. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.08.006
Book Chapters
Szabo-Lael, R., & Zemach-Marom, T. (2010). Child protection in Israel. In H. Dubowitz, & J. Merrick (Eds.), International aspects of child abuse and neglect (pp. 47-57). New York: Nova science publishers.