Israel has over half a million children between the ages of birth and three years, only about half of whom attend a supervised childcare center, Yediot Aharonot reported Wednesday morning.
According to the report, out of 540,000 infants and toddlers, 114,000 attend an unlicensed childcare center.
Under the Supervision Law passed in 2021, supervision was supposed to be imposed for private childcare centers as well, but challenges have increased in multiple relevant areas since the law was approved.
In 2026, the budget allocated for supervising daycare centers is expected to drastically shrink to only 46 million shekels, compared to about 190 million shekels in 2023.
The impact of the proposed budget cut is expected to be felt in the battle to close daycare centers operating illegally, which, according to estimates by the Israeli Tax Authority, number between 1,000 and 1,500.
Since last August, the Education Ministry and Welfare Ministry have identified 470 daycare centers operating without a license, only some of which are in the haredi sector, and there has been an increase in the identification of daycare centers that are also not reporting to the tax authorities.