In pursuit of child and family well-being: Initial steps to advocacy

Abstract

Communities across the United States, in both urban and rural areas, are seeking ways to promote well-being for their citizens in sustainable ways. This paper provides a descriptive case study of one rural community that used an inquiry-based approach to ask, "How can we engage our citizens to improve child and family well-being in our community?" The group also wondered "What if Brookings had one place for families to access all family resources that support well-being?" "What if all families had a place where their needs were heard?" and "What if all resources for families looked at the well-being of children and families in a holistic way?" This paper describes the initial journey of a community of practice advocating on several different community levels, including the role of university students, the process of the community of practice formation, its growing connections to community agencies and its initial efforts to build calls to action through participatory research and grassroots community efforts. While conveying a linear narrative, the authors also maintain a focus on the organic processes of knowledge construction and the evolution of a community of practice. Data collection, using the Delphi approach, is underway to access initial ground-up definitions of well-being and to identify areas of focus.