Better beginnings, better futures: Theory, research, and knowledge transfer of a community-based initiative for children and families

Better Beginnings, Better Futures is an early childhood initiative focused on promoting healthy development of children and families in economically disadvantaged communities. The Better Beginnings approach is ecological and holistic, community-driven, integrated with existing community services and supports, and universally available to children aged 4-8 within communities in which it is offered. The Better Beginnings initiative effectively illustrates the concept of wellness as fairness through its efforts to create more just social conditions and its connection to both procedural and distributive justice, the two principles of fairness outlined by Prilleltensky (2012). Through the development of programs that support children, parents, families, and the community as a whole, Better Beginnings initiatives are able to promote children's development by building community capacity to create healthy and positive environments for children. This paper provides an overview of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures initiative from its outset in 1990 to the present, with a view towards examining the ways in which knowledge generated from such initiatives can be transferred to other communities.