160 caregivers with criminal records were found in criminal records checks conducted by the Day Care and Family Centers Division at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Some of them have violent offenses against minors, drug use, and more. This was revealed this morning (Sunday) by Noam (Dabul) Dvir, the education and social affairs correspondent for 'Israel Hayom'.
As part of the Supervision Law, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs established a database containing the names and details of caregivers who are prohibited from working in the position and having contact with toddlers, as well as men and women who are prohibited from running daycare centers.
Over the past few months, approximately 9,000 criminal records of all staff members involved in the daycare, including caregivers and daycare managers, have been checked.
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The investigation revealed that 160 caregivers were found to have a criminal record for serious offenses, which, due to their severity, make them unfit to work with toddlers.
Among the caregivers, 47 caregivers have been convicted of violence against a helpless minor, 72 have been convicted of violent offenses, and 49 have been convicted of theft.
Now, with the start of registration for the programs, one can only shudder at the thought that those same caregivers would come to work with the toddlers.
This is a confidential database containing the details of people who are prohibited from working with toddlers. The database with criminal records, which belongs to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, is registered by law and is not visible to the general public.
The procedure is done in such a way that the daycare owner forwards the employee's name to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, and the ministry is the one that conducts the investigation with the police authorities and, at the end, makes a decision regarding the employment of the caregiver.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs repeatedly warns that daycare centers that do not comply with regulations and the required inspection for non-criminal registration will be exposed to prosecution and the center will be closed immediately.
The head of the Day Care and Family Nurseries Division at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Amir Medina, says: "We are regulating a field that has been open for 70 years. Naturally, the implementation is complex and sensitive, but we are continuing with all our might with the best interests of the toddlers - and that alone - in mind. We issued a call to the day care operators to come and receive training at the state's expense, to register, and we have not yet received a full response from everyone. We would like to make it clear that we will not hesitate to use all the tools that the legislature has made available to us to ensure that the day care staff in all settings will meet the requirements of the law.".
He added: "Recently, we have witnessed a growing trend of parents becoming more involved in activities and inquiring about frameworks and their compliance with the provisions of the law. We welcome this trend and see parents as a vital force multiplier in this process.".
