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Three welfare recipients: The journey from dependency to self-sufficiency
Abstract
As the battle over welfare reform continues to invade the nation, the role of welfare in helping people to meet their own educational objectives for the purpose of ensuring long-term self-sufficiency is likely to be challenged. It was the intent of this unique qualitative case study to explore the different pathways that led three welfare recipients to seek welfare and their life experiences as they journeyed from dependency to self-sufficiency. The study focused on recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which is a federally funded welfare program that provides cash payments for families with needy children who lack parental support (Friedlander & Burtless, 1995). The participants--a divorced mother of two, a single mother, and a young couple granted two thorough face-to-face interviews in their homes and provided information related to eight major categories: background history, turning point, welfare encounter, higher education, self-sufficiency, barriers encountered, aids to self-sufficiency, and policy recommendations. The study painted a descriptive portrait of each recipient and the difficult circumstances that led to their encounter with welfare. Their challenging journey from welfare dependency to self-sufficiency glorifies the empowering role of higher education and illustrates the fortitude of the human spirit. Of significance was the interesting generational and ideological shift between the recipients' view of public assistance and that of their parents. The recipients sought dependency on welfare as a vehicle to self-sufficiency, viewed welfare as an entitlement, and were able to justify their dependency on public assistance in the face of personal sacrifice. The comprehensive cross-case theme analysis revealed the different pathways that lead people to welfare dependency, similar experiences, significant themes, and straight-forward policy convictions as asserted by the three participants in this study. This empowerment-based research study echoed the voices of recipients and utilized the strength perspective to emphasize their efforts to rise above poverty by utilizing welfare dependency to achieve self-sufficiency. Research convictions reflect the participants' commitment to self improvement through higher education and their recommendations for designing responsive strengths-based social policies and programs to empower welfare recipients to triumph over dependency and attain lasting self-sufficiency.
Subject Area
Social work|Adult education|Continuing education|Welfare|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Younes, Maha N, "Three welfare recipients: The journey from dependency to self-sufficiency" (1996). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9715992.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9715992