The Center for Youth Services Inc

What it reported doing in 2025

Counseling Intervention: Counselors provide essential chemical dependency prevention, individual and family counseling, and crisis intervention services including youth intake and assessment, case management, advocacy, and follow-up. Utilizing evidence-based practices and programs, counselors work with youth to increase decision-making skills and protective factors in order to reduce alcohol and substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors. Counseling staff are stationed in The Center's downtown office, schools, and community organizations.Information and referral services are available 24 hours a day through the staffed help line to ensure maximum accessibility and responsiveness to youth needs.This program includes funding by contributions and government grants in the amount of $626,086.Teen Court: Rochester Teen Court is a voluntary, peer-to-peer alternative intended to turn a young person's first encounter with the adult criminal justice system into their last. A judge presides over the court with youth volunteers serving as jurors and attorneys. Cases are selected when defendants realize their responsibility and are willing to accept the sentence selected by their peers. Sanctions include community service, counseling and relevant workshops. Peer Court utilizes volunteers within the school to serve on a panel in a restorative justice model. Peer Accountability Court: The Greece Central School District decided to address long term suspensions for actions that impaired the academic process by adding a Peer Accountability Court or PAC in its secondary school sites. Based on the approaches taken by Rochester Teen Court, the PAC program is a sentencing option, and students take responsibility for their actions and then face the consequences using a restorative practice model. The goal is the repair harm and build community in a school setting which results in a reduced out of school suspension and a reengagement with the school. The students involved with the PAC program has impacted the academic environment and are working on resolving that behavior and moving forward with repairing the harm that may have been caused. This initiative is supported and supervised by the leadership team in Rochester Teen Court.Youth Development Opportunities and Volunteerism: The talents, skills, and time given to The Center by hundreds of youth and adult volunteers transform the lives of our youth. These generous community members listen, counsel, tutor, provide meals, host parties and college tours, plant flowers, clean our buildings, sort books, furnish coats, scarves, suitcases, duffle bags and provide holiday gifts. Simply put, The Center could not operate as they do without them. It is through their spirit of generosity and understanding, and their belief in what they do here at The Center that makes these volunteers so precious to The Center.Bridge to Peace - Restorative Practices - Youth Leadership: The Center for Youth was founded more than 50 years ago on the principles of youth voice and youth leadership, on removing barriers and providing social and racial justice and on repairing harm and building community. The newest initiative, located at 797 Monroe Avenue, provides the agency the opportunity to return to this mission in a new site that is led by youth and focuses on the use of restorative practices across all programs. The Bridge to Peace building is the home of the Learn to Earn program, arts of all types, including dance, music, and visual and graphic arts, as well as basketball and other sports. Most importantly, 797 Monroe welcomes youth of all ages and incorporates the use of restorative circles in all programs. Celebrating youth voice is essential in all Center programs but nowhere more emphasized than at the Bridge to Peace. With a keen eye to anti-violence and social justice, the additional programs offered at 797 Monroe connect with other agencies, school districts and programs to insure that youth are respected and va

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 87.5%; rating input score 88
• Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
• Fundraising efficiency: $61.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • 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: 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: 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: 1.7%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings