Pelican Center for Children and Families

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462210493
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Zachary, LA, USA
Phone
5046163787
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$907,255
Expenses
$957,092
Assets
$439,000
Liabilities
$70,616

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RONALD MCCLAIN (PRESIDENT (THRU 12/2024); BOARD MEMBER)
  • KAYANA BRADLEY (PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL BENJAMIN-ROBINSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • STANLEY M HARRIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STANLEY M HARRIS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $143,777 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE GROS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $119,495 total reported compensation
  • DEBRA C JOHNSON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $45,279 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 pelican center provides training and education to judges, court staff and administrators, lawyers for abused and neglected children, indigent parents, child welfare agency attorneys and district attorneys, child welfare agency staff, and court advocates to accomplish the center's vision of a child welfare legal system that effectively supports safety, permanency, and well-being of abused and neglected children who are involved with the child welfare system.

What it reported doing in 2024

Court improvement program - training: child welfare training and education curriculum development and training event coordination, Louisiana child welfare training academy partner, statewide annual "together we can" conference on child welfare. Efforts support a competent child welfare workforce.together we can conference: the together we can conference is a multidisciplinary event providing professionals with child abuse and neglect training. The audience includes court appointed special advocates, child advocacy centers, judges, parents' attorneys, children's attorneys, social workers, indigent defenders, ccfs workers, education leaders and students, foster/adoptive parents, law enforcement professionals, mental health professionals, and more. The twc conference began and continues to work with the goal of gathering all parties who work and/or volunteer with the child welfare arena so that all would receive the same information, build relationships to help protect children as a team, and work together to focus on children, their safety and well-being. The together we can conference offers in-depth learning workshops which address child welfare policy and practice concerns. There are keynote speakers focused on the latest trends and institute sessions allowing more intensive attention to the selected topics.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 89% 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: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: -5.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.2%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $817K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $144K · 14 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $103K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.