Our Story
Our History
Our Kids Network is a Halton-wide partnership of community organizations and professionals who support the healthy development and well-being of children and youth. We began our journey in 1996 and have been doing research and building partnerships ever since. Our goal is to help professionals who work with kids, by sharing evidence, building relationships and creating resources.
We know that it’s important for children to have good relationships with adults they can trust, so we focus on building strong relationships between kids and adults. We also believe in celebrating the rich culture and history of Indigenous communities, and we work to promote equity and cultural awareness through educational resources and research.
Our Kids Network is committed to making our society more inclusive and just for everyone.
Our Values
At OKN, we have three important values that guide everything we do: working together, building evidence, and creating accountability. These values are the backbone of our approach and help us work towards our vision “All Children and Youth Thrive”.
Working together means that we believe in collaboration and teamwork. We know that we can accomplish more when we work together with others who share our vision. By pooling our resources and expertise, we can make a bigger impact and create better outcomes for children and youth.
Building evidence means that we believe in using data and research to guide our decisions and actions. We collect information and analyze it to better understand the needs of children and youth, and to determine the most effective ways to help them thrive. By using evidence-based approaches, we can make sure that our efforts are making a real difference.
Creating accountability means that we believe in taking responsibility for our actions and measuring our progress. We set clear goals and objectives, and regularly evaluate our performance to make sure that we are on track. By holding ourselves accountable, we can ensure that we are constantly improving and making the most of our resources.
Overall, these values are critical to OKN’s mission of ensuring that all children and youth thrive. By working together, building evidence, and creating accountability, we are making a real difference in the lives of young people and creating a brighter future for us all.
Foundational Framework
At Our Kids Network, we conduct research and bring community agencies and organizations together to create the positive conditions needed to support all children’s growth and development. We support professionals to improve the well-being of children and families. The Halton 7 are the seven conditions of well-being that we focus on: children and youth are healthy, children and youth are learning, children and youth are positively connected, children and youth are safe, families are strong and stable, schools are connected to the community, neighbourhoods are where we live, work and play.