Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132668080
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
2125536300
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$70,128,470
Expenses
$69,941,114
Assets
$45,365,516
Liabilities
$43,298,775

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JONATHAN MCLEAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JONATHAN MCLEAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $375,468 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA ASBURY (CFO & ADMINISTRATION OFFICER): $368,135 total reported compensation
  • JAMES MCKNIGHT (PSYCHIATRIST): $330,412 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Cases' mission is to increase public safety through innovative services that reduce crime and incarceration, improve behavioral health, promote recovery and rehabilitation, and create opportunities for success in the community. We believe in a New York city in which a person's previous criminal involvement or behavioral health needs do not limit the opportunity to engage in the support and treatment services they need to succeed.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community support & supervision: community support & supervision (css) delivers alternative-to-incarceration (ati) programs serving youth/young adults and programs for adult participants who have mental illness and substance use needs. The programs connect participants with the support they need to address the root causes of their challenges. In fy25, the ati programs enrolled 2042 clients with open criminal cases in the bronx, brooklyn, and manhattan courts. 1124 clients successfully completed ati community supervision. The newstart program serves adults arrested for misdemeanor crimes who face incarceration in nyc jails. In fy25, newstart conducted 1,354 intakes and supported 58% of participants to successfully complete their court mandates, a significant achievement given that nearly half of participants experienced homelessness at intake. In 2020, cases launched the nathaniel community success (ncs) program as an alternative to incarceration (ati) for people with mental health needs and/or co-occurring substance use disorders. Based in central harlem and downtown brooklyn, ncs provides intensive services that gradually taper as clients develop skills, independence, and sustain linkages to community-based supports. In fy25, ncs admitted 369 new clients, representing a 58% increase in admissions compared to the prior year. The program achieved strong outcomes, with 169 clients successfully completing their court mandates, reaching a 58% completion rate. Overall, across the ati programs, 64% of clients successfully completed their court mandates, marking a 17% increase over fy24 and a 24% increase over fy23. These outcomes highlight the impact and effectiveness of cases' ati programs in supporting clients to meet legal obligations while addressing complex needs, reducing incarceration, and building pathways to keep people in the community where they can address the root causes of their challenges.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 84% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.9%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $244.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.3%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.95; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.9% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $60.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $375K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.