Abstract
Welfare to well-being leads to better quality of life for families and communities. Around the world, societies are experimenting and shifting policies that address welfare to well-being for families and communities. In the U.S., the greatest shift in several decades has occurred with the welfare reform policies. These shifts have placed at issue the extent to which individuals and families and governments contribute to self-sufficiency and sustainability of their members and the collective whole in society. The paper addresses: a framework for thinking about sustaining well-being in the context of making transitions from welfare for the few to well-being for the many; a research illustration of focus group findings on the meaning of self-sufficiency for families who are currently receiving one type of welfare (food stamps); and the opportunities emerging in the context of the interaction of the family and society at the community, state, national and global level that allows for a wholistic response to issues around well-being and quality of life studies.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 147-154 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Social Indicators Research |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue number | 1-3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2002 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The paper was supported by Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station Project (MIN 52-055) and the College of Human Ecology, Office of Outreach, University of Minnesota. The researchers wish to thank all the parents receiving Food Stamps who were part of the focus groups discussed in the paper. All correspondence should be directed to Dr. Bauer at Family Social Science Department, 275 McNeal Hall, 1985 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108. She can be reached at jbauer@umn.edu or at (612)-625-1763.