River Oak Center for Children

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942519001
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, USA
Phone
9166095100
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Residential Mental Health Treatment

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,880,543
Expenses
$18,321,742
Assets
$16,859,140
Liabilities
$2,794,492

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cynthia Woods (President)
  • Nou Lee (Past President)
  • Sandra King (Vice President)
  • Laurie Clothier (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Laurie Clothier (Chief Executive Officer): $288,425 total reported compensation
  • Kathleen Willard (Chief Financial Officer): $241,052 total reported compensation
  • Amy Fierro (Chief Program Officer): $220,366 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Since 1966, River Oak helps children and youth who need support, coaching, and treatment to thrive at school, at home, and in the Community. Through innovative and evidence-based programs, River Oak strengthens children, youth, and families to manage life's challenges and achieve their full potential.

What it reported doing in 2024

Integrated Therapeutic Services aims to provide resources to youth and their families in the systems in which they live. Ideally, this facilitates the child's ability to function effectively at home, at school, and in the community. A wide range of intervention services, including several nationally recognized evidence-based programs, are utilized to create an individualized treatment plan to meet the needs of each youth. Our successful array includes Multi-Systemic Therapy, Therapeutic Behavioral Service, Functional Family Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Incredible Years, Parent Child Interaction Therapy, Transition to Independence Process, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Teaching Pro-Social Skills. For the period ended June 30, 2025, 1,563 clients were actively receiving services.

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 97% 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 assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $232.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • 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: 3%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $15.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $288K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.