States concerned with welfare (6)
I believe the answer is:
realms
'states' is the definition.
(realm is a kind of state)
'concerned with welfare' is the wordplay.
'concerned with' becomes 're'.
'welfare' becomes 'alms' (historical form of charity).
're'+'alms'='REALMS'
(Other definitions for realms that I've seen before include "Domains ruled by king or queen" , "areas of interest" , "Kingdoms, domains" , "Fields of activity or interest - sound monarchical" , "Kingdoms, or fields of interest" .)