Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk County Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

The children's advocacy center of suffolk county unites public, private and community partners to promote safety, healing and justice for children exposed to violence and their families. Each year in suffolk county, more than 1,600 young victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse and commercial sexual exploitation are referred to the cac for support and assistance. The only program of its kind in suffolk county, the cac coordinates the efforts of child protection, law enforcement, prosecutors, advocates, medical experts and trauma clinicians under one roof to provide high quality, specialized services for abused children and their families. The cac's child-friendly, trauma-informed program is based in boston, co-located with partner agencies. The cac is a fully accredited member of the national children's alliance.the cac's team of compassionate experts works together with partners to focus on what matters most: safety and healing.multi-disciplinary teams: the multi-disciplinary team ("mdt") is the heart of the cac's response to allegations of child abuse. The goal of the mdt is to quickly respond to concerns of child abuse and to determine the best response for the child and family.forensic interviewing: forensic interviews provide children a safe place to tell their story to experts who will listen to them, protect them, and help them heal. The electronically-recorded interview typically involves a child speaking with a forensic interviewer while team members observe the interview through a one-way mirror.mental health program: the cac's mental health program provides advocacy, support, and evidence-based trauma services to child victims of abuse and their caregivers. To further support children and families, the team includes a family resource specialist and family advocates. The family resource specialist provides assistance in accessing needed housing, employment, financial, food and other essential resources. The family advocates offer education, assessments, support, advocacy and referrals for necessary services. This support is needed more than ever.medical services: the children's advocacy center of suffolk county, provides specialized and trauma-informed medical care for children who have experienced abuse or exploitation. Medical services are provided by a pediatric sexual assault nurse examiner ("pedi-sane") at no cost to children and families.seen/child trafficking response: the support to end exploitation now program ("seen" program) at the cac provides expert case coordination and training to create a safety net for high risk and exploited youth.outreach and training: the cac's outreach & training program provides education and resources to professionals, community members and youth. Demand for training has increased dramatically with growing demand for training regarding online safety and supporting youth who are impacted by online exploitation. The cac training team includes a training program manager and community outreach coordinator to help meet this demand.data & evaluation: the cac hired its first data analyst in 2022 to enhance the cac's data collection, evaluation and case tracking with the goals of ensuring high quality service delivery and conducting program evaluation to better measure impact.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 36.7%; rating input score 37
• Program expense ratio: 62.8%; rating input score 63
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 41.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.38; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings