Citizens Development Center

What it reported doing in 2024

U & i's workforce development program provides work readiness training and job placement assistance for individuals with disabilities with a focus on veterans, youth in transition, and those living in poverty. Services address the numerous employment obstacles they face and include vocational adjustment training, work experience, mobile work crews, and employment/placement. Vocational adjustment training (vat) is curriculum-based instruction for special education students who are preparing to transition out of high school. This instruction targets self-awareness, soft skills, job preparation, disability disclosure and money management. There are 6 vat modules ranging from 10 to 30 hours each. Vat greatly benefits students with special needs by helping them develop competencies and skills necessary for success on the job and in the community, develop job preparation skills to increase their probability of getting a job, and improve their communication and interpersonal skills. Work experience training provides special education students with experience in a "real people doing real work" environment, and helps the student explore career options, gain work experience, develop employability skills, improve soft skills, and build self confidence. Students are assigned to a work site for 4 to 6 hours per day for up to 12 weeks. At the worksite, our untwise certified job skills trainers work side by side with the student teaching work and soft skills, reinforcing skills, and establishing job accommodations. Our mobile work crews provide janitorial and landscaping services for area txdot facilities. Our employment/placement services include an array of support and services for individuals with disabilities, including veterans and those living in poverty, so that they can successfully obtain and maintain employment. Services include extensive assessment, job readiness training, job placement assistance, counseling/guidance, weekly support group, computer lab, transportation to job fairs/interviews, monthly bus passes, referrals/assistance (food pantries, housing services, clothes closets, etc.), work-related equipment, employer education, and lifetime job retention services. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, u & i's workforce development services served 937 individuals. U&i's partnership with work quest and wage services program provides payroll services to work quest/tx workforce commission who provide the work experience training for individuals across the state of Texas. U&i served 917 individuals in the wage services program in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 88.4%; rating input score 88
• Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
• Fundraising efficiency: $34.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• 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: 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings