Mdft International Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 264486699
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Miami, FL, USA
- Phone
- 7866682088
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Services N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,096,385
- Expenses
- $2,537,073
- Assets
- $1,029,902
- Liabilities
- $23,191
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- GAYLE DAKOF PHD (President)
- HOWARD A LIDDLE (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- CINDY ROWE (Director): $251,454 total reported compensation
- GAYLE DAKOF PHD (President): $239,788 total reported compensation
- MELISSA SIENNA (Executive Dir.): $176,207 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To improve the lives of adolescents and their families by training public and private clinicians in the theory, methods, and procedures of a highly effective science-based treatment, called multidimensional family therapy (mdft)for adolescent substance abuse, delinquency, and other behavioral problems.
What it reported doing in 2025
As of December 31, 2025, MDFT has successfully implemented 68 community-based organizations throughout the United States.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 43
- Accountability: 58
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 44.4%; rating input score 44; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -21%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 39.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $251K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 44/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.