The Ministry of Labor and Welfare Announced the Opening of the Online System for Subsidy Requests for Daycare Centers and Recognized Family Daycare for the 2024-2025 School Year.
The subsidy will be granted to parents who meet the eligibility criteria, as long as their children are in daycare centers and family daycares recognized by the Ministry of Education. The amount of eligibility will be determined based on the income per person in the family, the age of the child, and the educational system of the child. It is noted that approximately 130,000 children are currently in daycare centers that meet the criteria.
For the 2024-2025 school year, the ministry offers a significant benefit to parents, aimed at alleviating the cost of living. One of the main changes is the increase in the maximum income threshold, while the minimum threshold remains unchanged. In the past, parents who earned above a certain threshold were not eligible for subsidies; however, starting this school year, the maximum threshold will be raised, allowing more parents to submit subsidy requests. Additionally, updates have been made to the various income levels, so the monthly subsidy amount will increase for thousands of additional parents.
The Changes and Calculations
Income per person is calculated by dividing the total income of the parents by the number of individuals in the household— including parents and children up to age 18. Until this year, the maximum income per person was set at 5,300 NIS. Families with a per capita income exceeding this amount were not eligible for subsidies. However, in the upcoming year, the maximum threshold will rise to 6,600 NIS per person, which will allow more families to submit subsidy requests.
For example, a family with three children and two parents earning a gross income of 28,000 NIS per month, which results in a per capita income of 5,600 NIS, was not eligible for subsidies until now, due to their per capita income exceeding the cap. However, with the threshold increasing by 1,300 NIS, this family will be eligible for subsidies that could reach over 1,000 NIS per month.
Until now, a family with three children and two parents earning a gross income of 18,000 NIS per month, resulting in a per capita income of 3,600 NIS, was eligible for a subsidy rate of 7 until now. After the changes, their eligibility rate will be adjusted to a rate of 6, leading to a significant increase in the monthly subsidy amount by hundreds of shekels.
Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur stated, “The subsidy for daycare centers is the most important element in encouraging women’s employment in the labor market. This year, after many efforts, more working women will be eligible for subsidies, a move that will contribute both to the well-being of families and to strengthening the economy.” The Director-General of the Ministry of Labor, Israel Ozen, added: “This year we managed to add a budget and include more parents in eligibility for subsidies, all in order to alleviate the cost of living and encourage employment in the economy.”
