Long Island Head Start

Legal name: LI Child and Family Development SERVICES INC

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
112771919
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2021
Location
Patchogue, NY, US
Phone
(631) 758-5200
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,884,327
Expenses
$25,673,824
Assets
$10,678,284
Liabilities
$3,139,071

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBRAH GARCIA (EXECUTIVE DIREC): $228,478 total reported compensation
  • GULERANA NOMANI (DIR. OF FINANCE): $171,815 total reported compensation
  • DIANE EPPOLITO (DIRECTOR OF QUALITY ASSURANCE): $160,730 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Long Island Head Start is to provide a comprehensive learning environment to children respectful of their cultures and to assist families in reaching self-sufficiency through the combined efforts of parents, community, and staff.

What it reported doing in 2024

US DEPT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES -- HEAD START PROGRAMThe Agency's operations are almost entirely dependent upon government grants The objectives of the Agency are to develop a greater degree of competence in children, improving their everyday effectiveness in dealing with their present environment as well as later responsibilities in school and life. The Agencys programs encompass the following: Education - The children receive a variety of learning experiences to foster intellectual, social and emotional growth. Children participate in indoor and outdoor play, and are introduced to words, colors and numbers.Health - The Agency promotes a comprehensive health care program medical, dental and mental illness.Nutrition Children are served one or more hot meals and snacks each day containing at least one-third of the daily nutritional requirement. This program is part of the Child and Adult Care Food Program ("CACFP") which is administered by the New York State Department of Health ("NYS DOH").Family and Community Partnerships- Where needed, the Agencys staff refers families to local health and human services agencies to help them to obtain the services they require.Services to Children with Disabilities - Children with disabilities receive comprehensive developmental services in a mainstream environment. In addition, staff members work closely with community agencies to provide additional needed services.Parent Involvement - Parents are the most important influence at the Agency.Many parents serve as members of the Agency's Policy Council and Center Committees. Parents have a voice in administrative decisions. Many parents also serve as volunteers.Staff Development and Training - Staff members in all programs receive training to improve job performance and are given opportunities for career advancement.L. I. Child and Family Development Services, Inc., dba Long Island Head Start (the "Agency") also operates the Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships Program. This program builds on the existing strengths of Early Head Start and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies, which allow low-income families to accesshigh-quality childcare. The Agency is serving ninety-eight infants and toddlers (98) and has five (5) partners. Through grantee partnerships with five (5) partners, EHS-CCP maximizes the impact of federal grant and subsidy dollars to expand access to high-quality childcare and comprehensive supports for low-income infants and toddlers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.6% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $22.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $228K · 21 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $770K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.