QADER and the Ministry of Social Development Launch the “Capacity Development for Organizations Working in the Field of Intellectual Assessment of Children” Program

QADER for Community Development and the Ministry of Social Development launched last week a comprehensive and specialized program aimed at developing the capacities of organizations and centers that provide intellectual assessment services for children across all governorates of the West Bank. 

The program includes a series of diverse training packages designed based on the recommendations of the “National Technical Team for Developing Quality Standards for Intellectual Assessment Services for Children”. 

The implementation of this program comes within the framework of the joint efforts led by the Ministry of Social Development in partnership with QADER to enhance the quality of intellectual assessment services for children. The Ministry conducted national consultations followed by the formation of a specialized technical team that contributed to the process of preparing the Quality Standards Manual, which the Ministry will formally endorse and launch in the coming period. 

To mark the launch of the Capacity Development Program, a specialized training workshop entitled “Fundamentals of Intellectual Assessment for Children” was held in Beit Jala for two days, on October 25 and 26, 2025. The workshop was conducted by clinical psychologist Dr. Yoad Ghanadri Hakim and attended by 26 professionals from targeted organizations and centers in the governorates of Bethlehem and Hebron. 

The workshop focused on unifying knowledge and concepts related to intellectual disability, understanding the ethics of the diagnostic process, reviewing the diagnostic tools approved in Palestine, exploring the components of the diagnostic report, and linking the diagnostic and evaluation processes. 

It is worth noting that the implementation of this program falls under the second phase of the project “Enhancing the Quality of Services and Protection Measures for Persons with Disabilities in Palestine,” implemented by QADER in partnership with Caritas Germany and supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Moreover, within its partnership with the Ministry of Health, QADER has implemented a national program to develop the capacities of professional staff in the field of intellectual assessment of children. This program primarily targeted the staff of the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), following the completion of the Quality Standards Manual for Intellectual Assessment Services for Children, which was developed through national efforts led by the Ministry of Health.