Council for Childrens Rights Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Council for children's rights protects and advances the legal rights and development of children through individual representation,community education, and by addressing community wide issues through systems advocacy, research, and policy work.
- Income
- $1.5 million
- Spending
- $2.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 63%
- Employees
- 32
- Volunteers
- 250
- Highest pay
- $152,510, executive dir.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 30 out of 100.
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.0 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 64% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 44% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 39% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 22 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100.
Independent board
25 of 2520 of 20 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $641,178 spent. Childrens Defense Advocacy (CDT):Children's Defense Advocacy- the council serves as the specialized juvenile publicdefender in Mecklenburg County. through a contract with the North Carolina office ofindigent defense services, which provides funding for roughly 76% of the cost of theprogram, the council's attorneys represent all children charged with crimes injuvenile delinquency court. In addition to performing the public defender role injuvenile court, the council represents every child that is facing confinement inmental health institution as express interest attorneys, the council provides thevoice of the child and fights to ensure that the child's constitutional and statutory rights are protected. The council is the only specialized juvenile public defender in North Carolina.
- $514,617 spent. Education Advocacy (ELP):Education advocacy- the council 's attorneys and advocates serve as best interestadvocates for children who need services. These advocates work in the complex area of special education, mental health, child welfare (abuse, neglect and dependency), public benefits, domestic violence and human trafficking. The council receives almost all these cases by court order through the district court, and occasionally through community referrals from concerned parents, guardians,relatives or others who contact the council's office. the council helps clients navigate compels social services systems so they can receive appropriate services to meet their needs. when advocacy or other intervention efforts are unsuccessful, the council can use impact litigation on behalf of an individual child to ensure that the child's legal rights are protected. the council specializes in working with children who have complex needs in multiples social services systems, who are at risk of languishing and falling through the cracks.
- $441,272 spent. Custody Advocacy (CAP):Custody Advocacy- the council serves as the court appointed best interest attorney to represent the best interests of children who are caught in the middle of highconflict custody cases. Using a combination of staff attorneys, volunteer attorneysand volunteer child advocates, the council ensures that the child's voice is heardand that the judge has all the necessary information to make a decision that is inthe best interest of the child. The council receive cases through court appointmentform a district court judge; the program operates only through a court-ordered feebased on the income of the parties. The council represents only the child- not the court or the parents.
- $122,763 spent. System Advocacy (Research):System Advocacy- the council identifies gaps in services to children and promotesimprovement in those services so fewer children fall into crisis. We championimprovement both through our own communications and by encouraging others to joinour advocacy. the council seeks to influence the learners of local and stategovernments to adopt new policies and to improve existing laws so all childrenreceive effective and efficient services. The council informs the public about howsystems are succeeding and where systems are falling to provide the services ourchildren need to be safe, healthy, and educated. We encourage the community to joinus in action to celebrate successes and to advocate for the correction of failures.Research is the core of the council's improvement of services for all children. Our research work draws on a wealth of information to guide our adoption and implementation of the best practices for helping children to be safe, healthy and educated. First, we capture and analyze our direct knowledge of the legal and social systems serving children in our community and the firsthand data accumulated from more than 35 years of standing up for children. Second, we collaborate with our communitys children and the solutions that work. Finally, we apply research from outside resources to confirm indemnified needs and to validate proposed solutions.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since May 1982.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.