&##9;Several organizations regularly publish information concerning children and youth in Israel. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) publishes information about the social and demographic characteristics of the children and youth populations, in addition to providing critical data on the educational system. The National Insurance Institute (NII) publishes an annual report of its activities and an analysis of the impact of various programs. Its annual report contains information on poverty, including rates among the various segments of the population. In some years, children's issues are given special attention. The Center for Social Policy Studies publishes an annual report that sometimes includes articles on children's issues.

&##9;The National Council for the Child operates a research and public education center which, among its other activities, publishes the most complete statistical report on children in Israel. The State of the Child in Israel, a statistical annual, is published in partnership with JDC-Israel. It includes information from various sources concerning most realms of children's lives. The Council also produces a separate special report on immigrant children.

&##9;Reliable information on service provision and service recipients is scarce. Various divisions in the major ministries that provide services to children publish reports on their activities, as do some of the local authorities. However, these reports are not published regularly. In addition, because the services lack comprehensive information systems, these data are often not up to date.

&##9;Information on the prevalence of most social problems among children is also limited. The research in Israel concerning child welfare and educational problems has not focused on prevalence studies.

&##9;There are several institutes that focus on children. The National Council of Jewish Women Research Institute for Innovation in Education under the auspices of the School of Education at the Hebrew University and the Henrietta Szold Institute conduct research on educational issues and programs.

&##9;The JDC-Israel's Falk Institute conducts research on issues concerning mental health in various populations, including children. Recently much of their research effort has focused on the absorption of immigrant youth from the FSU. JDC-Israel operates a national information system on services for "children at risk" and disabled children.

&##9;Information on children and youth in the Arab sector is even more limited. Sikkuy (which means "Chance"), a Jewish-Arab voluntary organization (see chapter on Voluntary Sector), publishes an annual report concerning issues of equality and integration among Jews and Arabs. This annual report also contains information relating to children and children's services. Shatil, a voluntary organization concerned with education and community development in both the Jewish and Arab sectors, also conducts some research on these issues as do the Adva Research Institute and the Center for Arab Education at the University of Haifa.

&##9;JDC-Brookdale's Research Program on Children and Youth in the past focused mainly on disadvantaged populations. In the few years since the program was established, much effort has been devoted to collecting basic information on populations of service recipients, mapping available services and evaluating innovative programs. The Research Program on Immigrant Absorption at the JDC-Brookdale Institute has conducted extensive research addressing the major issues related to the absorption of children and youth, both from the FSU and Ethiopia. A Research Center for Children and Youth was recently established at JDC-Brookdale. Within the framework of this Center, issues concerning child welfare, child well-being and social services will be addressed using a comprehensive multi-disciplinary approach. The Center will give priority to addressing the needs of disadvantaged children and will devote special attention to Arab children and youth.