OCD facilitates and develops through mutually-beneficial partnerships with its constituencies new knowledge, services, and policies to improve the lives of children and families in five domains:

• Interdisciplinary education and training.
• Interdisciplinary research and scholarship.
• Human service demonstration programs, networking, and strategic planning.
• Program monitoring and evaluation.
• Needs assessments and policy studies.

To create and maintain a supportive and facilitative atmosphere for its constituencies within which interdisciplinary and collaborative activities may be conceived, nurtured, implemented, and managed.

To provide guidance, assistance, and management for the planning, funding, development, implementation, and operation of innovative collaborative systems, projects, and programs in its domains of activities.

To provide balanced, non-partisan, research-based information on service needs and program effectiveness communicated in a clear and useful format to those who can apply such information.

To provide information, technical assistance, and a wide range of interdisciplinary and management services to collaborative projects locally and elsewhere pertaining to university-community partnerships; collaborative demonstration service and policy projects; strategic planning and systems analysis; program monitoring, evaluation, and needs assessments; interdisciplinary and applied scholarship, education, and training; and other activities that promote the welfare of children, youth, families and the communities in which they live.

To disseminate research and professional information on children, youth, and families through publications, presentations, the popular media, and personal contact to those individuals who can use that information, including academics, service professionals, policy makers, parents, and citizens.

To be an exemplar of a university-community partnership and explore, demonstrate, and communicate to other universities and communities how such a venture can be beneficial to all partners.