Vision

The vision of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel is to ensure that every individual born should have the opportunity to fulfill her/his potential for a healthy and productive life unhampered by disease or disability. The Institute aims to become an international leader in child health, welfare and human development and to be an advocate for children, the disabled and persons with intellectual disability.

Mission

The mission of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development is to provide an academic focal point for the scholarly interdisciplinary study of child, adult and family life, health, welfare, disability, rehabilitation, intellectual disability and related aspects of human development.

The National Institute will in the future aim to have the following four centers:

• National Research Center on children, disability and intellectual disability with the mission to conduct independent research, coordinate research and support research with other institutions, initiate and participate in international research, coordination and communication, organize seminars, conferences and congresses. A National Database on children, disability and intellectual disability and a National Birth Cohort should be established.
• National Academic Center on children, disability and intellectual disability to conduct multidisciplinary courses and training programs at the graduate, post-graduate and doctoral levels.
• National Clinical Center with various clinical centers for children, the disabled and the intellectual disabled affiliated.
• National Resource Center on children, disability and intellectual disability with a National Library, clearinghouse, legal rights center and publication Center for the National Institute and all its activities.

Guiding Principles  

The guidelines for a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Israel should be based on the concept that adult health and well-being are determined in large part by episodes early in life. That human development is continuous throughout life and that the reproductive processes and the management of fertility are of major concern, not only to the individual person, but to the society.

It should be understood that the foundations of adult knowledge, attitudes and behavior in health and welfare matters are laid and cemented in the formative years of infancy, childhood and adolescence.

The Institute should become one of the principal research institutes for the relevant Government Ministries (Ministry of Labour and Welfare, Health, Education, Science), the National Insurance Institute and other relevant agencies in the field of child life, health, welfare, disability, rehabilitation, intellectual disability and related aspects of human development and cooperate with all relevant institutes of higher learning.

The Institute should become the training base for the student, the post-graduate and doctoral student in health sciences, behavioral sciences, social science and education concerned with children, the disabled and the intellectual disabled person.

History 

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development was established in Israel in 1999 as a virtual institute with a core team of dedicated clinicians, administrators and researchers. This team has been very active despite its limited resources, but today there is an urgent need to establish the Institute as a permanent institution affiliated with government agencies and a University. For this an endowment is needed.