SCO Family of Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
112777066
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Garden City, NY, USA
Phone
516.671.1253
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$266,823,599
Expenses
$261,390,532
Assets
$167,268,259
Liabilities
$162,931,544

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUZETTE GORDON (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUZETTE GORDON (PRESIDENT & CEO): $487,680 total reported compensation
  • LISA SAMMON (CFO): $304,889 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA LUKEMAN (CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER): $300,950 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

SCO empowers children, adults, and families through life-changing care, housing, education, and behavioral health support — helping them to overcome challenges and to succeed. Mother and Daughter SCO empowers children, adults, and families through life-changing care, housing, education, and behavioral health support – helping them to overcome challenges and to succeed. Compassion: We provide deep empathy and a safe, trauma-informed, caring environment that enriches and supports each life we touch. We anticipate and strive to meet the needs of every person and every community we serve, responding to moments of crisis and preventing crises before they occur. Belonging: We are a diverse workplace that is intentional about advancing equitable and inclusive practices that foster a feeling of belonging among our clients and staff. See our video Empowerment: We enhance the strengths of...

What it reported doing in 2024

Special needs & behavioral health services: sco provides expert care to over 5,000 children, youth and adults with special needs through a broad continuum of support, residential and treatment services that unlock potential and help them lead full and productive lives. We provide support to children and young adults with emotional disorders needed to live and function in the community. We offer highly structured residential services, crisis respite, assessment, case planning and case coordination, clinical support and treatment, community based services and in-home services for children and young adults who live with their families and other caregivers.sco helps children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities realize their full potential and become participating members of the community through a variety of in home habilitative services, residences and supportive caregivers structured to permit children and adults with developmental disabilities to strive to become as independent as possible.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 67% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $144.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.97; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.1% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $229.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $488K · 35 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11.6M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.