OCD strives to improve the lives of children and families by conducting a variety of multidisciplinary, community-driven, responsive, collaborative projects that turn knowledge into action. Most of OCD's projects involve four basic functions:

• Analyze information from research and professional practice
• Innovate with service demonstrations and applied research
• Learn and improve through monitoring and evaluation
• Change practice and policy based on knowledge

While these functions are often implemented in the above sequence, projects can start with any function and move in any sequence with continuous reciprocal influence between functions.