The National Survey on the Social Work Profession
Background
Social workers play a vital role in Israel’s welfare, healthcare, and social service systems. Approximately 40,000 social workers serve diverse populations across a wide range of settings. As challenges facing the welfare system and the profession continue to evolve, comprehensive, up-to-date data is essential to assess the current landscape, identify emerging trends and challenges, and establish priorities for the future.
The Challenge
Social work operates within a complex, interconnected system, yet lacks a comprehensive national assessment that brings together the perspectives of both professionals and service recipients. Without a shared evidence base, it is difficult to systematically identify the profession’s key challenges, understand the needs of the system, and translate these insights into long-term policy recommendations.
The Opportunity
Collaboration among key government bodies that employ or work with social workers creates a unique opportunity to develop a comprehensive, cross-sector understanding of the profession. By combining the perspectives of social workers and service recipients, the initiative can assess the system from both sides and establish an evidence-based foundation for national policy and decision-making.
Objectives
o develop an up-to-date national assessment of the social work profession in Israel; identify key challenges, needs, and trends affecting both social workers and service recipients; and translate the findings into policy recommendations that support informed decision-making and help shape the future of the profession and Israel’s social service system.
Course of Action
The initiative consists of two complementary phases. The first involves a nationwide survey of social work professionals, which has received approximately 2,000 responses to date. The second phase will focus on social service recipients, incorporating their perspectives into the overall assessment. Once both phases are complete, the findings will be analyzed and consolidated into a comprehensive report with policy recommendations, to be presented to the Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs.
Impact
The first phase of the study has already generated approximately 2,000 responses, providing a substantial evidence base for understanding social workers’ perspectives and experiences. The partnership between the Ministries of Welfare and Social Affairs, Health, and Defense also enables a broader assessment of the profession across the key systems in which social workers operate. The next phase will expand this understanding by incorporating the voices of social service recipients. Once both phases are complete, the findings are expected to inform a national report and policy recommendations to be presented to the Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs.
What We’ve Learned
As the project is still underway, it is too early to assess its findings or systemic impact. At this stage, progress can be measured through survey participation, data quality and representativeness, and completion of both research phases. The broader impact will be evaluated once the final report and policy recommendations are developed, particularly by examining how the findings inform decision-making and future policies concerning the social work profession.