Daycare Managers Blast Ministry of Education Over Impossible Licensing Process
Translated & summarized from Davar by baba
Daycare center managers in Israel are struggling with an overly bureaucratic and delayed licensing process managed by the Ministry of Education. They report significant delays, constant form changes requiring resubmission of documents, and a lack of human support, leading to increased costs and administrative burdens. Managers stress that while safety is paramount, the current process hinders their ability to operate effectively and may force them to pass additional expenses onto parents. The Ministry of Education has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Daycare managers report the Ministry of Education's licensing process has become impossibly bureaucratic and delayed.
- Frequent changes to forms require managers to resubmit documents and incur significant extra costs.
- Managers cite lengthy waits for ministry responses and a lack of human support as major issues.
- The additional expenses from the licensing process may be passed on to parents.
- Managers emphasize their goal is to streamline bureaucracy, not compromise on child safety.
Daycare centers in Israel that care for seven or more toddlers are legally required to obtain an operating license from the Ministry of Education. This license is contingent on meeting safety standards, maintaining appropriate staff-to-child ratios, ensuring staff training, and fulfilling other conditions. While the licensing process has always been complex, daycare managers are now reporting that bureaucratic hurdles, frequent form changes, and lengthy waits for ministry responses are making license renewal an exceptionally difficult task.
The requirement for licensing was established by the Supervision of Daycare Centers for Toddlers Law. In January 2022, the Ministry of Education assumed responsibility for licensing and supervision, aligning with its broader mandate for early childhood education. However, managers like Dafna state that the application period, typically opening in April-May and closing in July to ensure licenses are secured before the academic year, was delayed until June this year, making a July renewal unlikely.
The application process is conducted online, involving exchanges between center managers and the ministry. Managers submit forms and approvals, and the ministry responds with lists of missing documents or required corrections. Managers report waiting up to a month for a single response, significantly extending the overall process. They also criticize the ministry's method of providing feedback, noting that not all necessary corrections are detailed at once, and discrepancies exist between notifications and the licensing system's displayed requirements. One manager, Dafna, described receiving five separate letters, each requesting a single correction.
Managers also highlight the burden of resubmitting documents due to minor, often purely cosmetic, changes in official forms. Stav, another manager, explained that a change in a waiver of confidentiality form, requiring staff to consent to criminal background checks, necessitated re-signing by all staff, even though the change was not substantive. This also led to unexpected costs, as one manager had to pay thousands of shekels for a safety consultant to re-issue an approval after a form change, as the consultant was unwilling to sign a document dated months after their inspection.
These additional expenses, managers warn, may ultimately be passed on to parents, who already face high costs for early childhood care. They also complain about the lack of human support, with the ministry's previous human-operated call center replaced by automated responses or delayed email replies that primarily direct users to the website. Furthermore, there are coordination issues between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor, which handles subsidies for eligible parents. Parents have faced difficulties registering their children for subsidies even after the daycare center has been licensed by the Ministry of Education, and discrepancies exist in the operational requirements of the two ministries.
Despite these challenges, the managers emphasize that they are not seeking to compromise on safety standards. Their goal is to streamline the licensing process, eliminate redundancies, and allow them to focus more time on managing their centers and caring for the children. "Safety checks are very important," stated Keren, "but I am not performing them just for show, but because safety is above all. All I ask is that there be less bureaucracy around the process."