To err is human, and as such, administrative errors are an inevitable component of current and future welfare state bureaucracy. Hitherto, while studies on administrative burden have shown us that routine interactions with welfare bureaucracy are often burdensome, very little is known about the nature of these interactions when something goes wrong. Most social policy and public administration scholarship focus on ex-ante analysis of administrative errors, with only scant research devoted to ex-post analysis of how claimants experience such errors once they occur, and the types of costs they may incur. This article contributes to the growing field of administrative burden research by examining welfare claimants' experiences of administrative errors. Analysis of 19 interviews with Israeli benefit recipients uncovered two themes. The first related to the process of correcting errors, including identifying and communicating them to the system. The second theme addressed the consequences of errors: on the one hand, economic and emotional costs including loss of trust in the system, and on the other, acquiring bureaucratic skills. These findings highlight bureaucratic errors as a critical and unique site of learning burden, as well as the need for a human contact to allow claimants to better deal with their consequences.

This article contributes to the growing body of research on administrative burdens by providing a theoretically and empirically driven typology of governments’ burden reduction strategies. Despite the mounting interest in burden reduction, the literature still lacks a typology for systematically identifying and classifying such strategies. The article identifies three analytical dimensions of burden reduction: distributive (who bears the burden), intensiveness (what the level of burden is), and relational (how burden is experienced in bureaucratic encounters). Based on these dimensions, and drawing on a systematic analysis of the case of social security in Israel, we identify, define, and characterize seven distinct strategies of burden reduction: shifting, sharing, discarding, simplifying, expediting, communicating, and respecting. The article concludes with a discussion of these strategies, their applicability, practical implications, and directions for the research agenda on burden reduction.

Social workers play a key role in supporting the labour market inclusion of disabled people. Nevertheless, we know little about how they perceive the barriers that disabled people face and their role in addressing them. In particular, we need to know more about the extent to which they adopt an individualised versus a social model of disability. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-three Israeli social workers providing employment-related services via public and non-profit organisations. A thematic analysis revealed that the participants tended to view their clients’ barriers as related to individual characteristics, including their impairment, level of functioning and soft skills. Whereas social barriers were acknowledged as well, these were usually framed as related to employers’ attitudes, including ignorance, stigma, fear and distrust. In addition, recognition of these social barriers was usually detached from the social workers’ daily, individualised practices.

Introduction: Despite recent progressive changes in policy, practices, and discourse, when it comes to intimacy and sexuality, the rights of individuals with intellectual disabilities remain unrealized. Drawing on interviews with Israeli social workers employed in residential settings, the study seeks to better understand mechanisms and factors behind this reality. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen Israeli licensed social workers employed in small and large group homes. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Results: Using a temporal perspective, the identified themes are organized according to common, potential relationship stages: (a) forming a relationship; (b) practicalities of relationships: private and shared time; (c) dealing with relationship conflicts; (d) cohabitation; and (e) breakup. We trace the barriers experienced in each stage as well as the way social workers perceive both these barriers and their own role in overcoming them. Conclusions: We suggest four root causes that underlie the intimacy-challenged life of people with intellectual disabilities in residential settings: (a) the institutional nature of residential services; (b) organizational culture and practices; (c) limited resources; and (d) the human factor. Policy Implications: The current study suggests that to support individuals with intellectual disabilities in realizing their intimate citizenship, multilayered policy efforts are needed, requiring changes in the four root causes.

Passported benefits are additional benefits provided to individual or households based on a previous eligibility to a "primary"social security benefit. Although passported benefits should be easier to claim, in reality the claiming process is often cumbersome and results in low take-up. Drawing on an Israeli case study, we offer a conceptual framework to categorize and analyse the varieties of passported benefits along five dimensions: the eligibility role of primary cash benefits; automation level; legal status; type of service delivery; and the degree of decentralization. The administrative burden literature is employed to make sense of the paradox of passported benefits becoming a site for administrative burden. Using our conceptual framework and drawing on interviews with officials and claimants, we demonstrate why some passported benefits are more user-friendly while others tend to become administratively burdensome.

Summary: People with intellectual disabilities still struggle to enjoy intimate and sexual relationships. Social workers have a potentially key role in realizing the intimate and sexual rights of people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in residential settings. However, we still know relatively little about the meaning social workers attribute to such relationships. The present study addresses this lacuna by examining the perceptions and practices of 15 Israeli social workers in residential settings. Findings: Drawing on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, two key themes are identified: (1) Intimate relationships as a human need, and (2) Intimacy with a question mark. Combined, these themes depict an ambivalent position toward residents’ intimate and sexual relationships. Applications: The study's findings highlight the need to incorporate intimacy and sexuality within social work education, with a particular focus on people with intellectual disabilities and positive aspects of intimacy and sexuality. From a policy perspective, the findings urge state and professional authorities to develop national guidelines on realizing intimate rights.

מאמר זה מבקש למקד את המבט על הגישה החברתית ולנסח את האופנים השונים שבהם היא מציעה לנו לחשוב על שוליותם של אנשים עם מוגבלות בשוק העבודה השכירה. מניע מרכזי מאחורי מטרה זו הוא ההתרשמות כי בשיח המחקרי, המקצועי והציבורי יש לעיתים נטייה להצגה מונוליטית של הגישה החברתית, תוך טשטוש העושר התאורטי והאידיאולוגי הכלול בה (הולר,2018). ). כך למשל, נוכל לעיתים קרובות לשמוע חוקרים, קובעי מדיניות או אנשי מקצוע, כולל כותב מאמר זה, הטוענים כי הם מאמצים את ה"גישה החברתית של המוגבלות", מבלי לתת את הדעת לכך כי ניתן למצוא בתוך הגישה החברתית לא רק הסברים שונים לשוליות התעסוקתית של אנשים עם מוגבלות, אלא גם פתרונות שונים (ולעיתים מנוגדים) לשוליות זו. בשונה מכך, מאמר זה מבקש להראות כי בדומה לגישות ביקורתיות אחרות לשינוי חברתי, דוגמת הפמיניזם, הגישה החברתית של המוגבלות איננה עשויה מקשה רעיונית ואידיאולוגית אחת, וכי למעשה הניסיון להסביר את שוליותם של אנשים עם מוגבלות בחברה, וכך גם בשוק העבודה, והניסיון להציע פתרונות לשוליות זו, הובילו ליצירתם של מודלים תאורטיים ואידיאולוגיים שונים הנכללים תחת "מטריית" הגישה החברתית (Goodley, 2016). במאמר זה יוצגו שלושה מודלים מרכזיים שכאלו - מודל הזכויות, מודל הכלכלה הפוליטית והמודל התרבותי - המהווים אבן יסוד של הגישה החברתית של המוגבלות מאז התגבשותה (מתוך המאמר)

Drawing on interviews with disability and income support beneficiaries, the article examines the encounters of Israeli citizens with the National Insurance Institute. Using the administrative burden conceptualisation, our analysis highlights three known types of costs: compliance, learning and psychological. The current study provides further conceptualisation of these burdens by unfolding the role of three concrete elements involved in generating these burdens: waiting, communication breakdowns, and administrative errors. These elements are discussed in terms of their contribution to a better understanding of bureaucratic procedures that constitute administrative burdens in the context of the benefit claiming process.

Studies on the development of social policies have provided us with a rich body of knowledge. However, being based mostly on class, gender or racial analysis, this body of work has seldom used disability as an analytical framework. This article proposes a systematic research agenda for addressing this lacuna. Drawing on the political and institutional approaches, this article illustrates how mainstream theories on social policy development cannot be assumed applicable to disability policies ‘as is’. To apply them effectively, we argue, students of social policy need to rework them in light of the insights of disability studies. Such conceptual work would involve closer attention to the uniqueness of disability as a socio-political category. Integrating these social policy theories with disability studies will allow us to better identify the unique political and institutional factors behind the trajectories of disability related policy. We conclude this discussion with suggestions for future research.

We examined social workers' recommendations regarding the possible appointment of a guardian, a supported decision maker (SDM), or neither for persons with disabilities. Social workers (N = 328) were presented with four vignettes that contained factors potentially relevant to guardianship and SDM judgments. They expressed higher support of SDM and maintaining the status quo (without a guardian or SDM) and lower support for guardianship. Social workers were more likely to recommend guardianship when the person depicted in the vignette was labeled as having an intellectual disability, needed support in decision-making, lacked familial support, and agreed to guardianship. They were more inclined to support the status quo for individuals with mental illness, when there was little need for decision-making support, when the family was supportive, and when the individual refused guardianship. Social workers who had not heard of the SDM reform, and those with positive attitudes toward guardianship, supported guardianship. Findings are discussed in light of the status and functional approaches to guardianship and the relational notion of autonomy. As part of the SDM reform, decision-making capacity should not be assessed based on diagnosis or on independent decision-making, but rather on the ability to make decisions when receiving appropriate support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

מאמר דעה זה מבקש לבחון את חוק שירותי רווחה לאנשים עם מוגבלות, התשפ"ב-2022 בראייה היסטורית וערכית. ראשית כול יידון היחס ההיסטורי האמביוולנטי של מדינת הרווחה כלפי אנשים עם מוגבלות, אשר במסגרתו זכויותיהם החברתיות של האחרונים באו לעיתים על חשבון זכויותיהם האזרחיות והפוליטיות. בהמשך לכך מוצגת הגישה החברתית של המוגבלות, ובפרט האופן שבו היא ממשיגה מחדש עצמאות ואוטונומיה. המשגה מחודשת זו, כך נטען במאמר, מעניקה לנו אבני בוחן לבחינת החוק ולהתאמתו לשאיפותיהם של אנשים עם מוגבלויות. (מתוך המאמר) מילות מפתח נוספות: המודל החברתי של המוגבלות

Background: Following the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD), various countries have recently amended their legal capacity laws with the aim of restricting the use of guardianship and increasing the use of other, less restrictive practices, mainly supported decision making. As social workers have a key role in carrying out these reforms, this study examines how Israeli social workers make legal capacity-related decisions. Method: Semi-structured interviews with 27 Israeli social workers. Results: Thematic analysis identified three factors driving social workers' recommendations regarding guardianship and supported decision-making: the person's diagnosis and functioning level, and the presence of a supportive family. A fourth factor, the person's preferences, played a complex and more limited role. Conclusions: Many changes have yet to be made to fully apply the support paradigm in Israel, since social workers still tend to base their recommendations on factors not fully aligned with the CRPD.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have had a disproportionate impact on families with young children, especially with disabilities. This study examined factors associated with burden and growth among parents of young children in Israel, while comparing parents of children with and without disabilities. We hypothesized that the association between family functioning, informal social support, and perceived adequacy of educational services and burden and growth would be moderated by disabilities. An online questionnaire was completed by 675 parents of young children, 95 of them with disability. The moderating effect of disability on burden and growth was examined using PROCESS. Compared to parents of children without disabilities, greater burden was found among parents of children with disabilities, but levels of growth were similar. External support was lacking for both parent groups. Educational services were perceived as severely inadequate. Lower perceived adequate educational services were associated with greater burden. On the other hand, higher levels of family functioning (i.e., family cohesion and adaptability) and greater adequacy of educational services were associated with growth. The results show that while burden was greater for parents of children with disabilities, growth during the COVID-19 period was possible for parents of both groups. The findings also pointed to the importance of the family system for sustaining the wellbeing of its members in lockdown situations. Put together, the findings highlight the importance of planning for such national and global emergencies.

Throughout the years, social policy scholars have advanced a multi-level perspective of non-take-up, viewing it as is a complex process shaped by a broad range of interacting barriers and actors. However, a comparatively small amount of that scholarship has addressed the key role of take-up agents: professionals or semi-professionals who actively help clients realise their welfare rights. Moreover, most of this scant literature has tended to focus on the agents’ impact rather than on their role and practices. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Israeli take-up agents from the public, business, and non-profit sectors, this study seeks to understand better the work of take-up agents in realising their clients’ welfare rights. Our findings show that in order to pass their clients through the gateways of welfare, agents use four keys: knowledge, networking, emotions, and power. The meaning of these keys and related practices is discussed.

This study examines policy efforts to reduce administrative burden and to increase accessibility to unemployment insurance (UI) during the COVID-19 crisis in Israel and the consequences of these for claimants. A mixed-method approach was applied, utilising administrative documents, interviews and survey data. The findings suggest a mixed trend: Burden-reducing measures were introduced but were constrained by the system's preexisting infrastructure. While some claimants experienced the process as simple, many others experienced it as onerous, primarily due to a lack of communication with authorities. Two key insights for successful implementation of burden-reduction policies are highlighted: A well-established infrastructure and bidirectional communication.

Throughout the years, disabled people, especially those with intellectual and mental disabilities, have frequently been appointed authorised guardians. Having been criticised for restricting individual freedom and autonomy and in line with the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a 2016 reform in Israel's Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law called for restricting the use of guardianship and preferring less restrictive alternatives, specifically supported decision making (SDM). The success of this reform rests largely on social workers. This study examined the meanings social worker attach to guardianship and SDM. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-seven Israeli social workers. The findings showed that whilst they acknowledged the shortcomings of guardianship, they nevertheless perceived it to be vital. They provided three justifications for this view: guardianship as a safeguarding practice, guardianship as promoting individual well-being and guardianship in the service of third parties. These findings are discussed in terms of their meaning for guardianship as a risk-aversive practice designed to promote service users' well-being and quality of life and in terms of the role played by third parties in bringing SDM into force. Recommended steps for moving the current reform in guardianship from paper to practice are highlighted.

Background: COVID-19 has had a disproportionate and unprecedented impact on children with disabilities, their parents and families. This impact has been particularly evident during periods of lockdowns and severe restrictions. Objective: This study employed the social model of disability to illuminate negative and positive experiences of Israeli parents of children with disabilities during the first COVID-19 lockdown, as well as the way social environments, particularly educational and welfare services, shape that experience. Methods: The study draws upon thematic analysis of written responses of 80 Israeli parents to open-ended questions. Results: Three main themes were found: (1) lack of responsiveness of both informal and formal supports to family needs, mainly in the educational and welfare systems; (2) juggling multiple roles and tasks along with the parents' routinely intensive caregiving role; and (3) the impact on the family's wellbeing and relationships. Conclusion: These results are discussed in light of the social model of disability, showing how social restrictions and barriers affect both negative and positive experiences of these families. Also discussed are practical implications for future crises.

Importance: To date, little is known about the extent to which occupational therapy practitioners have adopted the core insights of disability studies. Objective: To examine the degree to which occupational therapy practitioners endorse the medical model of disability versus the social model of disability in theory and in practice. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Physical rehabilitation facilities, ranging from hospital to community settings. Participants: One hundred two Israeli occupational therapy practitioners. Outcomes and Measures: The Orientation toward Disability Scale, constructed for this study, has two dimensions that distinguish between the medical and social models of disability: locus of intervention (the person or environment) and client involvement (extent to which the practitioner fosters the client’s autonomy in the rehabilitation process). Each dimension addresses both theoretical and practical endorsements. Results: Greater support for the social model of disability was mostly evident in the client involvement dimension, whereas support for the medical model of disability was mostly evident in the locus of intervention dimension. Over both dimensions, the medical model of disability was significantly more endorsed in practice than in theory. Work setting and prior exposure to the social model of disability were found to affect practitioners’ disability orientation. Conclusions and Relevance: Occupational therapy practitioners working in physical rehabilitation are still relatively far from fully adopting the critical insights of the social model of disability. This finding is especially relevant when their actual practice, rather than their theoretical views, is considered and when rehabilitation takes place in out-of-home settings. What This Article Adds: This study offers unique insight into the disability orientation of occupational therapy practitioners, showing a need for more training programs to expose students to the social model of disability. These programs should use critical discussions of the challenges that this model presents to the profession and barriers to implementing it in practice.