Luzerne County Head Start Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232038753
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Wilkes Barre, PA, USA
Phone
5708296231
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,861,882
Expenses
$18,059,375
Assets
$4,995,410
Liabilities
$2,222,886

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STACEY KILE (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDREA L CALADIE CPA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH WHITE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH WHITE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $149,517 total reported compensation
  • MAUREEN ZABOSKI (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $102,676 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

As proven leaders in early childhood education and family development, luzerne county head start, inc. Is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for low income children and their families in luzerne and Wyoming counties. Our knowledgeable and caring staff accomplish our mission by: providing early care and education for pregnant women and children birth to five, emphasizing healthy outcomes and school readiness promoting family self sufficiency and partnering with individuals, school districts and our community.

What it reported doing in 2025

Head start programs deliver comprehensive services to children and families in core areas of learning, health, and family well-being, while engaging parents as partners every step of the way. During the year, the program served 848 three and four-year-old children along with 232 pregnant women and families with children up to three years of age. The goal of the program is to help children develop the skills they will need to succeed in school and to strengthen families in their daily lives. Lchs 2025 enrollment: federal head start preschool 345, pa hssap preschool 272, pa pre-k counts 231, early head start 222, united way ehs 10.

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th 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: -1.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $150K · 17 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $981K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.