Empowering Communities to Influence Public Policy: Healthy Families Maryland—A Case Study

For many years, the community, in conjunction with family and friends, has had a central interest and role in child rearing and child development. As the numbers of children at risk for compromised development and less than optimal outcome increase, it becomes even more apparent that communities and persons most interested in the development of children become intricately involved in influencing those policies and programs that ultimately affect healthy child and family development. The intent of this article is to highlight the importance of advocacy and to provide a model of community action that leads to policy formation, program development and financing, and ultimately, community empowerment as related to healthy child and family development.