Children Now

What it reported doing in 2024

EducationChildren Nows education program aims to ensure every child has access to high-quality early learning opportunities, a rigorous TK-12 education, including high-quality STEM, afterschool and summer programs, and access to affordable higher education. Through research and analysis, policy development, education and outreach, communications, convenings, and advocacy, we have worked to dismantle inequitable and racially discriminatory systems and achieved the following: protected $8.8 billion in funding for public schools during state budget negotiations; improved the distribution of LCFFs $300 million of equity multiplier funds that provide additional dollars to schools with high needs students; secured the inclusion of science on the California School Dashboard, the statewide school accountability system, benefiting 5.8 million students in the California public education system; protected the states commitment to expanding child care indefinitely; significantly improved school accountability via changes to the LCAP, requiring districts to focus on closing achievement gaps and evaluation the effectiveness of their actions of a three-year period; played a leadership role in protecting and continuing investments in our states teacher recruitment, retention, and preparation programs; successfully defended the Golden State Teacher Grant Program against proposed cuts; worked to create a paid educator apprenticeship pathway into teaching that addresses a key systemic barrier teachers face when entering the profession, which is lack of compensation while earning a teaching credential and the high cost of preparation programs; increased school district accountability for reclassifying English learners (EL) students in a timely fashion by increasing the performance level thresholds on the English Learner Progress Indicator, which measures the percentage of ELs who are making progress towards English language proficiency; provided leadership on the implementation of Californias C2C data system at every stage of its development, including budget advocacy to fund the system, shape its scope and scale, and guided C2C leadership and staff on data accessibility; advocated for the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Todays Youth Act, which strengthens state protections against any school district policy, rule, or regulation that would require the disclosure of information that relates to a students sexual orientation, gender identify, or gender expression without the students consent; worked to remove barriers faced by an increasing number of school districts seeking to enter into College and Career Access Pathway agreements to provide dual enrollment courses for high school students with community colleges; actively engaged with the workgroup convened by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to revise the Child Development Permit, the required credential for adults working with children in early learning and care settings, including California State Preschool; Children Now continued its leadership on TK, the landmark program we helped to establish to ensure universal access to preschool in California; worked to extend the home visiting program enrollment period to 36 months and extend the time that families can participate; and restored critical funding to the CalWORKS Home Visiting Program, when the Governor proposed a 45% across the board cut to the program.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 68.3%; rating input score 68
• Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $15.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th 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: 18.3%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.85; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings