Keeping at-risk children with disabilities safe

In late June 2023, we received the following letter from the Tel Aviv municipality that they would not be able to financially sustain and after hours program for the children with disabilities at our Holland early childhood center in Tel Aviv. 

Subject: Request to extend a day at the Holland rehabilitation day care center.

Following an in-depth examination of the issue, it was decided that at this stage the Disability Department in the Social Services Administration of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality will not promote the day extension project at the Holland rehabilitation day care center.

We appreciate the efforts of Chimes Israel to offer a response beyond the daycare's operating hours to toddlers who need it due to a complex family situation and for raising resources for the benefit of the issue. The municipality is aware of the importance of providing an additional response to toddlers in order to increase their supervision and care and to make it easier for their parents to cope with the complex daily life.

As a result, the issue has been examined several times by the municipality with Chimes Israel in front of the Ministry of Social Affairs, in order to understand whether there is a possibility, even if in the future, for the Ministry to recognize and budget for the project. In our understanding, at this stage such a possibility does not exist.

At this time, the municipality will not be able to approve the promotion of the project, in light of the fact that its continuity cannot be guaranteed in terms of funding on the one hand, and on the other hand because it is not recognized or backed by the Ministry of Welfare and does not operate within the law or the regulations of the Ministry.

In light of this, it was decided that at this stage the municipality will not advance the project and will continue to examine the issue with the relevant parties.

Best regards,

Adi Azov Amon, Director of Disabilities, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality

Due to this change, we have asked the Ashkelon Municipality to consider this for our centers in Ashkelon, which used to have this program, but ran out of funding. We have raised enough funding for one year, so we will continue to fundraise for this project.  Therefore, we are still fundraising for the project. Should there be another obstacle, the funds raised will still go to the needs of the new early childhood center that we are building in Ashkelon.

The Demand for Early Childhood Care in Ashkelon

Despite being a major target of Gaza rocket fire, Ashkelon is one of the fastest growing cities in Israel. Because of this, Chimes Israel has been hastily expanding its daycare and rehabilitative programs for children ages six month to three years to meet Ashkelon’s ever-increasing demand to care for children with disabilities.

Chimes Israel Facilities in Ashkelon

Chimes Israel’s four inadequately repurposed residential homes that serve as rehabilitative daycares are full of small rooms and many stairs that are extremely difficult to navigate for special children and their cumbersome equipment. Caravans/mobile homes have been placed in the yards to provide the extensive one-on-one therapy these children require. Due to the growing population in Ashkelon, the centers are stop-gap solutions that urgently need to expand. The classrooms are overpopulated and there are children waiting at home for special needs daycare placements. Because the houses are not fortified, during the last two conflicts when rockets were reigning down on Ashkelon and people had only 15 seconds to get to shelter, the children couldn’t go to school and lost significant developmental progress.

Why Rehabilitative Early Childhood Intervention

According to research, intensive diagnosis and early intervention can improve developmental trajectories for children with disabilities. A regiment of therapies can vastly improve physical, oratory, cognitive, social, and emotional developmental outcomes changing their lifetime trajectories. This is because the neural circuits in the brain, the foundation for learning, behavior and health, are most adaptable during the first three years of life. Over time, these connections become harder to change. The earlier intervention is implemented, the better a child’s chances of achieving their full potential.

Why Chimes Israel

Chimes Israel is a pioneer and innovator in the area of comprehensive early childhood rehabilitation for children ages six months to three years with developmental delays, autism, genetic diseases, and syndromes. Before Chimes, many parents of young children with autism, developmental delays, genetic diseases, and syndromes were overwhelmed and underequipped to manage their children’s multi-faceted care. This involved constantly making and taking their children to endless social services meetings as well as specialist appointments and therapies. When our managers saw how difficult this was for the parents, they set out to streamline the situation. They created a comprehensive solution for children ages six months to three years old, focusing on cognitive, motor and emotional habilitation and communication therapy.

We were the first in Israel to offer families of children with disabilities everything they needed under one roof: diagnoses, therapy, daycare, education, and family counseling. At all eight Chimes Israel’s early childhood centers, the children receive education, paramedical treatment, and intensive supervision. They have a daily routine of learning, playing, eating, and resting like that of any other preschool, plus an additional educational-therapeutic element. Chimes was also the first in Israel to implement individualized habilitation plans, which accompany the children throughout the day to ensure that they always on track to reach their personalized cognitive and physical goals.  

As our partner, I am writing to update you about the status of the project for which you generously donated: the extended hours program for at-risk children at Chimes Israel’s Holland Center in Tel Aviv. Chimes Israel runs several early childhood treatment and rehabilitation centers for preschool children with developmental delays, autism, genetic diseases and syndromes. At our Holland Center in Tel Aviv, there are several young children who in addition to their disability, deal with extreme poverty, verbal and physical abuse, neglect, and inadequate parenting. 

For these children, our program seeks to keep the center operating until 6:30pm as an alternative to home care. During their extended time at the center, as if they were home, the children would receive nurturing care, enrichment activities, dinner, shower and bedtime stories. The program will also include targeted child development and family relationship intervention.  This short (homemade) video provides a tour, for a visual picture of the Holland Center and a deeper understanding of the need to extend the hours for at-risk children.  This presentation explains the project and budget in detail. 

The worst are the babysitting centers where some go, which have earned the notorious name, “children’s warehouses.” You cannot believe that this happens in Israel! Here small children are often crowded into tiny rooms in apartments or basements with no air conditioning, poor ventilation, no activities but TV, and scant food. 

Since 2010, 26 children have died in these Tel Aviv children's warehouses (one in January 2020). This Haaretz news article shows photos and a video. (This other Haaretz news article  asserts that while the children's warehouses may be better than they were before 2015 (when the Tel Aviv municipality set standards after two more children died), the municipality actually has not allocated most of the funds they were given to improve the conditions. [Once you click the links, you can right click on the screen, you should be able to get these articles to translate into English.]

To our delight, we were able to raise the full amount needed to operate the program for one year of activity, and are raising money to continue the program. The organization’s executive management, our pedagogical experts, and the Holland Center’s managers were ready to structure its launch in November 2022, and the onsite team has identified eight children who meet the program’s criteria. However, we are waiting to launch the program upon approval of the City of Tel Aviv.  

Because of this delay, it looks like the launch will be postponed until September 2023.The decision will enable us to offer the program continually for a full year without the risk of it ending mid-year due to a lack of funds. Also, from a quality and accountability standpoint, with the continuity of the same children in the program for the entire year, we will be able to better track and assess the program's impact and success.   

It is now  In addition, please let us know if you will be visiting Israel.  We would be happy to show you the center! 

• Holland Early Childhood Center (PDF)