This paper is poised to look into the welfare dependency situation and policy issues for low-income programming in America. The specific objectives include establishing the lived experiences and perceptions of individuals currently enrolled in welfare or low-income programs regarding their participation in these programs; establishing how socioeconomic, structural, and systemic factors contribute to welfare dependency and entrapment among individuals receiving welfare assistance; establishing the primary barriers and obstacles faced by individuals in transitioning away from welfare assistance towards self-sufficiency and independence: and propose the strategies and reforms to address welfare entrapment and promote economic empowerment within their communities. The Intersectionality theory is applied in this study with interviews of welfare assistance beneficiaries. The results indicate that welfare dependency has persisted due to a collection of factors relating to individual attitudes and choices, program deficiencies, and policy factors. More so to the generic nature of policies and program requirements rather than individual-focused needs assessment. To improve the situation, need policy review, program re-orientation to focus on addressing the personal needs of each individual beneficiary based on needs assessments.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper is poised to look into the welfare dependency situation and policy issues for low-income programming in America. The specific objectives include establishing the lived experiences and perceptions of individuals currently enrolled in welfare or low-income programs regarding their participation in these programs; establishing how socioeconomic, structural, and systemic factors contribute to welfare dependency and entrapment among individuals receiving welfare assistance; establishing the primary barriers and obstacles faced by individuals in transitioning away from welfare assistance towards self-sufficiency and independence: and propose the strategies and reforms to address welfare entrapment and promote economic empowerment within their communities. The Intersectionality theory is applied in this study with interviews of welfare assistance beneficiaries. The results indicate that welfare dependency has persisted due to a collection of factors relating to individual attitudes and choices, program deficiencies, and policy factors. More so to the generic nature of policies and program requirements rather than individual-focused needs assessment. To improve the situation, need policy review, program re-orientation to focus on addressing the personal needs of each individual beneficiary based on needs assessments.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["BROWN, ANGELA S."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Community Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Bradley Olson","Dr. Judah Viola","Dr. Tiffeny Jimenez"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:38Z","subjects":["Generational Poverty","Welfare Entrapment","Low-income Programming Policy","Resilience Education","Self-Suffienciecy","Social Mobility","Adult and Continuing Education","Agricultural and Resource Economics","Applied Behavior Analysis","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Clinical Psychology","Community Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Development Studies","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Family and Consumer Sciences","Higher Education","Organization Development","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Justice","Social Welfare","Urban Education","Urban Studies","Urban Studies and Planning"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/913","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Bradley Olson","Dr. Judah Viola","Dr. Tiffeny Jimenez"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["BROWN, ANGELA S."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Community Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Generational Poverty","Welfare Entrapment","Low-income Programming Policy","Resilience Education","Self-Suffienciecy","Social Mobility","Adult and Continuing Education","Agricultural and Resource Economics","Applied Behavior Analysis","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Clinical Psychology","Community Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Development Studies","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Family and Consumer Sciences","Higher Education","Organization Development","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Justice","Social Welfare","Urban Education","Urban Studies","Urban Studies and Planning"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/913"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper is poised to look into the welfare dependency situation and policy issues for low-income programming in America. The specific objectives include establishing the lived experiences and perceptions of individuals currently enrolled in welfare or low-income programs regarding their participation in these programs; establishing how socioeconomic, structural, and systemic factors contribute to welfare dependency and entrapment among individuals receiving welfare assistance; establishing the primary barriers and obstacles faced by individuals in transitioning away from welfare assistance towards self-sufficiency and independence: and propose the strategies and reforms to address welfare entrapment and promote economic empowerment within their communities. The Intersectionality theory is applied in this study with interviews of welfare assistance beneficiaries. The results indicate that welfare dependency has persisted due to a collection of factors relating to individual attitudes and choices, program deficiencies, and policy factors. More so to the generic nature of policies and program requirements rather than individual-focused needs assessment. To improve the situation, need policy review, program re-orientation to focus on addressing the personal needs of each individual beneficiary based on needs assessments.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Lived Experiences of Welfare Dependency, Systemic Entrapment, and the Fight for Dignity in U.S. Low-Income Policy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Bradley Olson","Dr. Judah Viola","Dr. Tiffeny Jimenez"],"dc:creator":["BROWN, ANGELA S."],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper is poised to look into the welfare dependency situation and policy issues for low-income programming in America. The specific objectives include establishing the lived experiences and perceptions of individuals currently enrolled in welfare or low-income programs regarding their participation in these programs; establishing how socioeconomic, structural, and systemic factors contribute to welfare dependency and entrapment among individuals receiving welfare assistance; establishing the primary barriers and obstacles faced by individuals in transitioning away from welfare assistance towards self-sufficiency and independence: and propose the strategies and reforms to address welfare entrapment and promote economic empowerment within their communities. The Intersectionality theory is applied in this study with interviews of welfare assistance beneficiaries. The results indicate that welfare dependency has persisted due to a collection of factors relating to individual attitudes and choices, program deficiencies, and policy factors. More so to the generic nature of policies and program requirements rather than individual-focused needs assessment. To improve the situation, need policy review, program re-orientation to focus on addressing the personal needs of each individual beneficiary based on needs assessments.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/913"],"dc:subject":["Generational Poverty","Welfare Entrapment","Low-income Programming Policy","Resilience Education","Self-Suffienciecy","Social Mobility","Adult and Continuing Education","Agricultural and Resource Economics","Applied Behavior Analysis","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Clinical Psychology","Community Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Development Studies","Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Family and Consumer Sciences","Higher Education","Organization Development","Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Personality and Social Contexts","Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration","Social Justice","Social Welfare","Urban Education","Urban Studies","Urban Studies and Planning"],"dc:title":["Lived Experiences of Welfare Dependency, Systemic Entrapment, and the Fight for Dignity in U.S. Low-Income Policy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Community Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:38Z"}