A Community Collaboration for Kids dedicated to the long-term success of every child and youth.

Working together to build communities in which every child and youth is safe, healthy, valued and lives in family and neighborhood where:

• All babies have the best start possible.
• All children and youth are cared for and safe,
• All children are ready for school,
• All children and youth are successful at school,
• All children and youth are practicing safe and healthy behaviours and
• All youth are making successful transitions to adulthood.

The Six Expected Outcomes

The achievement of six expected outcomes within a generation directs the work and investments of the Every Kid in Our Communities’ Initiative and its many partners and collaborations. The outcomes are closely linked. Work accomplished on any outcome has significant impact on the other outcomes.

• All babies have the best start possible.
• Research strongly indicates that the pre-natal period lays the foundation for the future cognitive, physical and social-emotional health of children. Investing in the pre-natal period can lead to a significant increase in children born free of preventable injuries such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and to a significant decrease in low birth weight babies. The Initiative has potential impact on women and their families and builds on the efficacy of earlier health interventions, access to community-based services and skilled home-visiting support.

•  All children are cared for and safe.
• A child’s world can be filled with risk factors – poverty, family stress, and language barriers to name a few. Our work in increasing access to skilled parenting education programs, promoting family friendly workplaces, our strong partnership with Counties’ agencies, and supporting improved compensation for child care workers are some of our activities directed at achieving this outcome.

•  All children are ready for school.
• The foundations for school success, and success into adulthood, are laid in the pre-school years. We believe that increased access to early family literacy programs, community mapping of existing preschool services, and broadening the participation of young children in arts and recreation activities are thoughtful beginning steps to achieving this outcome.

•  All children and youth are successful at school.
• Resiliency research in the last number of years tells us that while we may not be able to successfully decrease all the risk factors in the lives of children and young people, we can increase their resiliency – their ability to withstand the stress of risk. In order to be successful, children and young people need to experience success and to have around them some significant and caring adults. We hope to train a variety of community members (sports coaches, convenience store operators, activity leaders, older teens and educators) to become skilled neighbourhood-based resiliency coaches who truly impact the lives of children on a daily basis. We will increasing their knowledge and use of the Developmental Assets all require to find success. We are working, as well, to decrease barriers for arts and recreation participation, increase access to mentors, and promote an assets approach to service planning and delivery.

•  All children and youth are practicing safe and healthy behaviours.
• Negative self-images, lack of self-care, limited housing and education access for marginalized youth contribute to decreased physical and mental health. With our partners we are determining what improvements can be made in service coordination, delivery, and social messaging to reverse some of these costly outcomes.

• All youth are making successful transitions to adulthood.
• Involvement in significant decision-making, opportunities to make a difference through participation in the voluntary sector, having one’s opinions listed to and regarded, and easy virtual access to relevant information about services and activities are the work of Every Kid and its partners in achieving this outcome.