Welfare Reform
Action can occur fast when two family economists, Drs. Jean Bauer and Bonnie Braun, commit to untangling the mysteries of welfare reform for us. Over the past year, Jean and Bonnie have teamed together to help a diverse group of people better understanding what is happening when changes to Aid in Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, Child Support Enforcement, Supplemental Security Income, and many other programs as the result of new Federal legislative mandates. As policy educators, they presented the complex data and a family well-being framework to scores of leaders in communities across Minnesota and the nation.
First, they held a leadership forum sponsored by the College of Human Ecology last October. Next, they worked with seventy Minnesota Extension Educators in welfare reform training sessions. The Extension Educators asked for a satellite broadcast so community leaders such as county commissioners, legislators, non-profit organizations, and others would hear first-hand about welfare reform from Jean and Bonnie. In January, the satellite conference, From Welfare to Well-Being, was beamed to communities in Minnesota and across the country. The interactive call-in portion of the conference dealt with questions from community leaders in Minnesota and other states about childcare, jobs, food stamps, housing subsidies, and energy assistance. The satellite conference was videotaped.
Jean and Bonnie continue to track the progress of welfare reform in the Minnesota legislature and in other states. They have demonstrated the importance of universities working in the public policy arena. They had leadership roles at a recent national conference sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and USDA in Washington, D.C. This meeting brought together 200 research and extension educators to develop a national plan of action for the well-being of children, youth, families, and communities. Their goals are to measure the social and economic implications of welfare reform on families and to monitor state and local responses to welfare reform.
Dr. Jean Bauer is Professor and Extension Specialist of Family Social Science and Dr. Bonnie Braun is Associate Dean for Outreach, College of Human Ecology, and an adjunct professor in our department.