Join Kids Come First as a Member Organization

With over 60 participating organizations, individual family and youth partners, and individual practitioners in the Kids Come First Health Team, a streamlined structure of membership and governance is required.

The Kids Come First Health Team is supported by the Ministry of Health under the Connecting Care Act, 2019 and the members of the Kids Come First Health Team will enter into a Collaboration Decision-Making Agreement (CDMA).

The purpose of the CDMA is to:

Set out how the Kids Come First Health Team partners will work together to achieve the Shared Objective;
Establish a Steering Committee and other organizational structures to enable the work of Team Members to achieve the Shared Objective; and
Set out the rights and obligations of Team Members

Kids Come First Team Members are those organizations and individuals that have signed this CDMA.

The Kids Come First Health Team will have two categories of membership for partners, such that each partner participant would be identified in one of these categories and their role and responsibilities to the Kids Come First Health Team would be governed accordingly.

Organizational Partners

This category includes organizations which play a central, consistent, and continuing role in, and are accountable for, the functioning of the Kids Come First Health Team. Organizational Partners have organizational mandates that are substantially child and youth-focused and in alignment with the Kids Come First Health Team. This does not mean these organizations are necessarily involved in every aspect of the Kids Come First Health Team activities.

Criteria to become an Organizational Partner:

Organizational mandates are substantially child and youth-focused and in alignment with the Kids Come First Health Team
Comprehensively engaged in the overall Kids Come First Health Team Strategy, multiple Kids Come First Health Team initiatives and ultimately accountable for the success of the Health Team
Engaged in delivering improvements to healthcare at multiple levels and across multiple organizations and health sectors
Engaged in the alignment of the Kids Come First Health Team strategy and initiatives with other Ontario Health Teams

Collaborative Partners*

This category includes key sector-based organizational partners and individual partners who will be engaged in their sector(s) and the sector’s contributions to the Kids Come First Health Team. Collaborative Partners have a component of their organizational mandates, and/or strategic direction, or for individuals, the personal commitment and experience that are child and youth-focused.

Collaborative Partners will participate in working groups and/or sector teams and could be selected from their group as co-chair or sector representative, and may become members of the Steering Committee.

Collaborative Partners participate in the facilitation and implementation of projects and collaborative initiatives that support the Kids Come First Health Team’s mandate.

Criteria to become a Collaborative Partner:

Organizational mandates and/or strategic directions or for individuals, the personal commitment and experience that have a child and youth component which is aligned with those of the Kids Come First Health Team
Frequent contributor and selected involvement in certain initiatives
Engaged in fostering improvement in own sector of care
Provide support to sector projects/initiatives

*Individual physicians and healthcare professionals

Individual physicians, community pediatricians and health care professionals may, themselves, be Collaborative Partners and may also be part of a working group or sector group which will have a seat at the Steering Committee.