“Israel Hayom”: the Ministry of Finance wants to tighten the criteria for disability benefits for children on the spectrum

According to Israel Hayom, the commission is considering tightening the criteria for two benefits – a child disability benefit for children on the autism spectrum and a care allowance.

The Treasury says that because the autism spectrum is so broad, it is necessary to distinguish between children with severe functional impairments who require full support and children with a higher level of functioning.

According to the ministry and Bituach Leumi, the volume of care benefits has quadrupled over the past 10 years from 5.5 billion shekels to 21.1 billion shekels, and the volume of child disability benefits has increased almost 6 times from 1.6 billion shekels in 2015 to about 9.2 billion shekels in 2025.

It should be noted that the changes being promoted will only affect new benefit claimants, with no review of the criteria for those already receiving benefits.