Executive Message
To summarize everything Kids Brain Health Network accomplished in 2022-23 is a challenge, and that speaks to the wide-ranging collective efforts made to make meaningful change for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) and their families. Thousands of people from many sectors—including families themselves—contributed to the network’s initiatives, which spanned scientific innovations, training programs, a global conference, implementation projects and policy recommendations.
Encouragingly, Canada made a formal commitment this year to financial security for people with disabilities (with Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act) and Canada-wide affordable childcare services (with Bill C-35, the Canada Early Learning and Childcare Act). In both cases, KBHN executive management and affiliated experts worked to ensure that children with disabilities would be included among those who would benefit.
We engaged with the federal government in other ways as well. For instance, KBHN made disability-inclusive recommendations for the federal COVID-19 recovery plan, to reduce the risk of long-lasting pandemic-related harm to the physical and mental health of families living with NDDs. By invitation, KBHN’s CEO also presented to the Standing Committee on Science and Research on the importance of co-producing research with families, so that they will have more opportunities to inform and fully engage with research that concerns them going forward. And we contributed further to Canada’s national autism strategy through a third year of policy-development practicums and a new policy-to-data fellowship.
Finally, we applied to the inaugural competition of the Strategic Science Fund. New investments are crucial to our ability to continue advancing the well-being of some of Canada’s most vulnerable kids for years to come.
The solutions that KBHN has developed over the past 13 years are already making a difference. To name a few, these function-based interventions that can begin even before a formal diagnosis is available, tools for addressing health challenges that disproportionately affect kids with NDDs, and systems of support that are easier for families to navigate.
Nicola Lewis meets with Members of Parliament Charles Sousa and Lena Metlege Diab, accompanied by Dr. Andrea Cross and Connie Putterman from KBHN’s Family Engagement in Research (FER) program.
To enable some of our most successful solutions to reach as many people as possible, we are supporting 12 evidence-informed innovations as they spread and scale across Canada’s broad geography and diverse communities. Some of the families who’ve benefitted from them have graciously agreed to share their stories in inspiring videos that will help KBHN to connect with even more implementation partners going forward.
We’re not stopping there: five new projects recently got underway through the Strategic Investment Fund. This pipeline of innovations, established by KBHN in partnership with Brain Canada, aims to improve quality of life for children with NDDs and their families in the near term. We specifically targeted projects with an established evidence base that are designed to spark positive changes in practice or policy, develop new applications for existing technologies or expand solutions in KBHN’s three focus areas: early diagnosis, effective interventions and family support.
As a network, we serve as a nexus for people and organizations across diverse sectors to join forces for a common goal. We thank our many partners for their immense and invaluable contributions to our collective work together, and we welcome the prospect of collaborating with all others who want to help shape the flourishing future that every child deserves.
Sheila Laredo
Chair, Kids Brain Health Foundation
An Update From Our Foundation
Kids Brain Health Foundation raises funds to allow KBHN to expand the reach and sustainability of its transformative solutions for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.
In late 2022, we hired our first director of fundraising, Jane Dafoe, who brings over 20 years of diverse experiences to the role. She has been working closely with the foundation’s board and KBHN’s CEO in areas such as governance, operational support and priorities. The board has adopted an ambitious goal of raising $10 million over five years. It is focused on sustaining the legacy of KBHN’s most impactful projects that bring meaningful benefits to kids, families and communities.
To initiate our fundraising efforts, we invited network/foundation board members and staff to contribute an amount that was meaningful to them. This gave the Foundation some positive momentum to build on.
We are continuously focused on building and nurturing relationships with donors who share our vision of a world where children of all abilities can thrive. We hope to make some gift announcements shortly and look forward to building upon this encouraging momentum in the years to come.
Thank you once again to our generous donors! We encourage you to join them.
The Year in Numbers
A Snapshot of 2022-2023
Our Objectives
Partners play a vital role in helping to set our research direction, supporting our work, connecting us with families, providing expertise, and ultimately putting our findings to use in clinical and service settings, as well as within the home. Here’s a list our partners by every sector who have been contributing to the network’s programs and research initiatives over the years.
Universities and Research Institutes
Schools, School Districts and Education Centres
Government Departments and Agencies
Industries
Hospitals and Care Centres
Not-for-Profits, Foundations and Associations
