The Knesset approved the first reading of the Welfare Bill for People with Disabilities, a landmark legislation that enshrines the rights of people with disabilities for the first time.
The announcement was lauded Tuesday morning by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who has long advocated for the law.
"More than nine years of work have been invested in this law, and its approval in the Knesset today is the result of the hard work of many good and determined people, led by Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Meir Cohen," Lapid tweeted.
היום אושר בקריאה ראשונה חוק זכויות הרווחה לאנשים עם מוגבלויות. יותר מ-9 שנים של עבודה הושקעו בחוק הזה, ואישורו בכנסת היום הוא תוצאה של עבודה מאומצת של הרבה אנשים טובים ונחושים, בראשם שר הרווחה @MKmeircohen כל הפרטים על החוק בלינק>> https://t.co/KqjVxbup9G pic.twitter.com/oxTjCWNVfc
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 6, 2022
The bill
With the bill's approval, the Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry will begin preparing to transfer tenants of welfare homes to apartments with a customized service package.
The bill defines the basket of services for each tenant, such as close social worker supervision, guidance, transportation, employment, financial management workshops and more.
Implementing this law will require a budget of NIS 2.2 billion. In order to begin implementing it as early as 2023, the government approved Cohen and Lapid's proposal for NIS 1.8 billion from the Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Ministry budget.
This is a developing story.