The Ombudsperson for Children (NCC Assistance and Support Center) is unique in the Israeli landscape and was, at the time of its establishment (1981), one of the first such institutions in the world.
The Ombudsperson is responsible for the receipt of inquiries on a variety of subjects related to the protection and rights of children and youth, and the provision of consultation, referral, and appropriate assistance.
The Ombudsperson’s receives some 6,500 annual inquiries by phone, fax, email and the NCC’s Facebook page, on a variety of issues related to children and youth, including at-risk children, child victims of sexual offenses, juvenile justice, rights of children in education including in special education, health, early childhood, youth labor laws, children and the media, status and citizenship of children in Israel, sports, social rights, and more.
The NCC’s Ombudsperson’s team provides assistance to each inquiry by providing information, consultation, and support. When continued help is needed from relevant bodies and authorities, the Ombudsperson team offers follow up of inquiries until resolution is attained.
The Ombudsperson is embedded in the NCC activity. This allows the NCC to monitor inquiries with a multi-layered approach – welfare, judiciary and training. Our approach allows the gathering of knowledge and information, facilitating the inquiry resolution process in an optimal manner. In addition, the Ombudsperson is the NCC’s tool to collect data from the field, identify loopholes and promote adequate policy where necessary. The Ombudsperson team includes workers and volunteers from the field of social work.
The Ombudsperson’s activity is carried out while maintaining complete discretion and is free of charge.
The uniqueness of the NCC’s Ombudsperson is in the combination of its activity for individual children and the solution of their concrete problems, with its activity on the national and policy levels. The aim of the Ombudsperson is not only to assist in individual cases but to learn from them, to monitor trends, and to raise issues that require regulation and broader treatment, whether by notifying the wider public and professional audiences, or promoting proper legislation or formulating policy, all with the aim of safeguarding children’s welfare, well-being and rights..
We regard every application as important, both for the individual child and his or her family, and for children in Israel in general. To contact the NCC’s Ombudsperson, click here.