2021-2022
AT A GLANCE
Our numbers from this past fiscal year signify not only our collective accomplishments, but also the innovation and dedication of Ontario’s extraordinary child development and rehabilitation sector. Take a moment to celebrate these remarkable. accomplishments as we move forward together, supporting kids with disabilities and their families to live their best lives.
Dear Colleagues,
We began the year with a renewed enthusiasm and vision for the
opportunities to deliver for Ontario kids with disabilities and
their families. With an election on the horizon, this year
ushered in more opportunity to meet the mark as we continued our
work to champion and care for kids with disabilities and their
families to live their best lives.
EKO members provided service to more than 120,000 kids at home,
at school and in the community – an extraordinary achievement
considering the challenges of the pandemic. While there is good
news that more and more kids are receiving service, wait lists
continue to grow both for assessment and for service.
This health crisis has forced us all to change gears and
reorganize. Some of our biggest wins—beyond innovations that
bring growing numbers of kids and families into service—have
been EKO’s growing membership that better represents the breadth
of child development, our engagement with members and partners,
and our work to build capacity in Ontario’s child development
sector.
We’ve also advanced our mission of integrating diversity, equity
and inclusion in our work. Especially as the pandemic has
exacerbated inequality in numerous ways, we are dedicated to the
success of SmartStart Hubs, which provide a clear entry point
for all families with a focus on those who face the greatest
barriers to success and well-being. Moving forward we will
continue to advocate for data-driven policies and programs that
improve the well-being and prospects for all kids with
disabilities.
In this report we are excited to share our accomplishments of
the past year. We are grateful to our members and partners for
continuing to meet the moment for Ontario kids with disabilities
and their families.
Tom Walters
Chair
Jennifer Churchill
CEO
Capacity Building for Kids with Disabilities and their Families
The New OAP
With support from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, EKO completed a second phase of the Building Capacity program, offered to more than 40 organizations, including the growing number of EKO members.
Participants in Building Capacity programs
= 500
increase of
86.6%
from Phase 1
Events average
73
attendees
No fewer than 30 organizations represented at each session
22
organizations
staff received individual advice and a customized report to support their Fee for Service efforts
Building Capacity microsite total page views:
8,438
average 2,109.5/quarter or 703/month
Average engagement time ranges from 3m56s to 15m48s
Online Resource Library:
129
tools and materials
Building Capacity Adds a Research Component
EKO, together with the McMaster University MacArt team led by Dr. Stelios Georgiades and Dr. Elyse Rosa, is undertaking an external evaluation of virtual care and the OAP Foundational Family Services offered by program participants across Ontario. The team is evaluating how the delivery and outcomes of virtual care—including the introduction of Foundational Family Services—can inform future provision of services for children and their families.
4
phases
85%
response rate contributing to asset mapping
Introducing SmartStart Hubs
This spring Minister of Children, Community and Social
Services Merrilee Fullerton introduced SmartStart Hubs—a first
step toward greater integration in the child development
services system, designed to deliver consistent provincial
approaches to early identification of children’s strengths and
needs, and connections to local services. Ontario’s 22
SmartStart Hubs are the province’s Children’s Treatment
Centres and Surrey Place—all EKO members. Each SmartStart Hub
brings together local professionals, ensuring seamless
connections to local services—including those provided by
other EKO members who are SmartStart Hub partners.
To enable a provincial approach to introduction of SmartStart
Hubs, EKO organized and administers working groups dedicated
to key implementation requirements, including learning
programs that support continual development for staff of
SmartStart Hub and partner agencies. A focus of learning is
developing cultural competence – a process rather than an end
point. Programs led by SMILE Canada, Sawubona Africentric
Circle of Support, and the Asé Community Foundation, have
already been introduced for sector leaders, and for EKO
members’ clinicians and staff.
22
SmartStart Hubs
4
Learning Themes
4
Working groups
1,682
registrations for 10 sessions
Advocacy
EKO is the voice of Ontario’s publicly supported child development and rehabilitation sector—the centres that help kids with disabilities and their families live their best lives. We promote investments, policies and programs based on the best research and thought leadership available, from sources around the world. We look for smart, innovative approaches to care at home, in schools and in communities across the province. Among EKO priority activities this year:
The association contributed feedback to the Ontario K-12 Education Standards and the Government of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Plan.
As a result of advocacy by the Children’s Health Coalition, Ontario Health established its Children’s COVID Response and Recovery table. Access to child development and rehabilitation services is included among the priorities for children’s healthcare.
Make Kids Count
The COVID pandemic has had profound impacts on the health, development and well-being of Ontario’s 2.3 million kids.
Recognizing the interconnected nature of children’s physical, developmental, and mental health and well-being, the Children’s Health Coalition developed an action plan for COVID recovery. Make Kids Count provides recommendations and implementation advice on how Ontario can ensure the pediatric system is equipped to manage current and projected increases in demand through the pandemic, while laying foundations for recovery.
The COVID Pandemic and COVID Recovery
Partnership with Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA)
In August 2021, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social
Services issued a directive stipulating that clients and staff,
contractors, students and volunteers in settings where the risk of
contracting and transmitting COVID-19 is higher, must be subject
to a vaccination policy.
To assist EKO members in
meeting these requirements on deadline, EKO contracted the OPHA to
develop the government mandated education program, satisfying the
directive’s requirements and address issues specific to the
demographics represented by EKO members’ staff.
EKO member agencies offered this course to employees 113 employees completed the course 72 responded to post-course survey
OPHA and EKO, with input from EKO members, developed English and French language resources about the vaccine for kids age 5+ To support clinician conversations with families For parents and caregivers
Children’s Health Coalition
EKO is a founding member of the Children’s Health Coalition, a collective of eight leading Ontario children’s health organizations together with: CHEO, Children’s Hospital - London Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Mental Health Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Kids Health Alliance, McMaster Children’s Hospital and SickKids. This group represents expertise in pediatric health care and research; rehabilitation; mental health services like targeted prevention, early intervention, short- and long-term counselling and therapy, addictions services, intensive services and acute care; physical, cognitive and communication disabilities; as well as emergency and complex care. Together Children’s Health Coalition members deliver every kind of care a child could need – and see how the elements of care can work together to support kids if we look at the entire system as a whole, and better support kids and their families no matter what challenges they are facing.
As Ontario manages the COVID pandemic and emerges from it, the Children’s Health Coalition serves as a trusted partner.
The Parent Homework Campaign
Together, the Children’s Health Coalition members developed and ran a multi-media campaign with the goal of providing families and caregivers with trusted information about COVID-19 vaccination for children.
Total website users: 32K
Page views
Homepage:
39K
FAQs:
4.1K
Vaccine facts:
1.7K
About us:
1.1K
2,049
clicks to the Booking Vaccination link
179
clicks to the Talk to a Tutor Link
68%
mobile
27%
desktop
4.7%
tablet
Research and Innovation
EKO provided support for research proposals and partnership opportunities, including with scientists at:
CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research
Bloorview Research Institute
University of Sherbrooke
McMaster University
EKO joined the research team working on a paper published June 1, 2022 in the Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation. The study aimed to synthesize knowledge about multi-criteria decision analysis methods for supporting rehabilitation service design and delivery systems. These methods are promising for better understanding client and family preferences and priorities, and further to use these methods in shared decision making.
The EKO CEO serves on the research team for a CIHR-funded Training Intervention and Program of Support IPS project. This pan-Canadian program targets allied health professional therapists to enhance family centered pediatric telehealth rehabilitation services delivered to parents of children up to 12 years of age with, or at risk of, disability.
Reach
EKO focuses on collaboration, and the association’s vision. This generates an increasingly broad group of stakeholders — key to building and sustaining EKO’s growing capacity and social impact. This year we’ve seen our impact progress in a variety of ways.
EKO CEO appointed to Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health Governing Council
EKO mobilized members in response to a request from the child development and inclusion organizations in BC to inform their provincial collaboration strategy
EKO CEO presented at the Children’s Healthcare Canada national conference on a panel discussing funding advocacy. Children’s Healthcare Canada has invited our CEO to return in 2022 for the session Leadership on Tap
Programs and Inquiries
EKO is Social
This year we saw consistent growth across all social media platforms:
312,800 total impressions
Steady month-over-month growth, resulting in 250 new followers (20.8 per month)
17,396 total impressions
Steady month-over-month growth, resulting in 126 new followers (10.5 per month)
EKO also expanded our social media presence with accounts on LinkedIn and Instagram, testing what resonates with our audience of member agencies, families and other health-oriented organizations, and garnering:
More than 100 followers organically
Member
Engagement
Membership
EKO now has 30 members
No attrition in membership in 2021-2022
EKO’s membership expansion and responsible investment strategy created the opportunity to introduce new member services and benefits, and grow our staff—bringing on board Wendy Miller, EKO’s Director, Policy and Engagement.
EKO Scholarship Program
With input from EKO Scholars, the association updated the program with a contemporary EDI lens:
4 former EKO Scholars were engaged as advisors
2 former EKO Scholars joined the Review Committee
1 parent of a former EKO Scholar joined the Review Committee
EKO Leadershift 2022
EKO’s Leadership Council has a long history in the association. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and two very unusual and demanding years, 2022 became a good time to once again meet in person. Despite advances in technology, research shows there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face. More than eight in ten executives prefer in-person meetings to virtual contact, noting they create space for timely business decisions and foster more complex strategic thinking. EKO Leadershift 2022 is on track to be a regular association benefit.
All EKO members registered for this two-day program
Survey says: The forum received high marks, along with encouragement to make this an annual event
Meet our 5 2022 EKO Scholars
Daniella Altieri
Victoria Chen
Daniel Gangmin Lee
Maxx LeMoine
Sydney Melindy
Financial Performance
Statement of Operations and Changes in Net Assets Year ended March 31
| Finacials line item | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Restricted Contributions | $ | $ |
| Capacity Building and Research | 1,150,000 | 50,000 |
| CRISP | 896,932 | 680,907 |
| Scholarships | 15,000 | 10,311 |
| Project Private Delivery | – | 302,948 |
| 2,061,932 | 1,044,166 | |
| Restricted Expenses | ||
| Capacity Building and Research | 1,150,000 | 50,000 |
| CRISP | 896,932 | 680,907 |
| Scholarships | 15,000 | 10,311 |
| Project Private Delivery | – | 302,948 |
| 2,061,932 | 1,044,166 | |
| Excess restricted revenue over restricted expenses | ||
| Unrestricted Revenue | ||
| Membership Fees | 893,573 | 715,279 |
| Other revenue | 45,582 | – |
| Interest Income | 7,993 | 5,436 |
| Donations | 497 | 24 |
| Annual conference | – | 7,575 |
| 947,645 | 728,314 | |
| Unrestricted Expenses | ||
| Salaries and benefits | 491,539 | 461,224 |
| Professional Fees | 59,518 | 60,005 |
| Project expense | 55,717 | 13,505 |
| Marketing and communications | 29,881 | 27,095 |
| Office | 22,462 | 13,888 |
| Board | 14,571 | 21,200 |
| Rent | 11,433 | 11,433 |
| Professional Development | 6,895 | 17,868 |
| Travel | 2,801 | 896 |
| Committees | 958 | 10,908 |
| Amortization | 152 | 158 |
| Special projects | – | 43,182 |
| Annual conference | – | (1,292) |
| 695,927 | 690,381 | |
| Excess of unrestricted revenue over unrestricted expenses | 251,718 | 48,244 |
| Operating fund balance, beginning of year | 746,419 | 698,175 |
| Operating fund balance, end of year | 998,137 | 746,419 |