Wayfinder Family Services
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of Wayfinder Family Services is to ensure that children, youth and adults facing challenges always have a place to turn. Founded in 1953 as the Foundation for the Junior Blind, the organization initially enabled visually impaired children to lead fuller and more independent lives. In response to community needs, Wayfinder expanded programs for children, youth and adults with vision loss or profound special needs and serious medical conditions; children and infants who have experienced loss and trauma; foster youth in search of homes and opportunity; and adoptive families. We offer all services at no cost to our clients, most of whom are low-income people of color.
- Income
- $46.7 million
- Spending
- $48.3 million
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 9.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- government grants, 83%
- Employees
- 611
- Volunteers
- 21
- Highest pay
- $442,328, ceo
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
Good: 82 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 9.9 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 16% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 3% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 7% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 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. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (human services, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2514 of 15 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)
- $15.1 million spent. Our statewide Foster Care and Adoption programs match children and youth who have been displaced from their homes due to abuse or neglect with families that can provide safe, caring homes. Wayfinder recruits, trains and certifies resource (foster) families, some of whom ultimately adopt the children they foster. We emphasize a child achieving permanency, which can be reunification with birth parents, living with relatives, adoption or guardianship. Also, Wayfinder offers therapeutic post-adoption support that includes case management, mental health therapy and mentoring to children and their adoptive families during and after adoption to promote stability and permanency.
- $5.8 million spent. The Cottage is a 10-day temporary shelter care program on our Los Angeles campus for boys and girls ages 0 through 17 who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. These children need temporary refuge until they can be placed with family members or foster families. Our professional staff stabilize children in crisis so they are ready to transition to a placement. Wayfinder is one of only four agencies selected by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services to provide this service-and the only shelter licensed to care for infants and toddlers. Thus, The Cottage receives all children under age 5 in the county who are removed from their homes due to maltreatment and cannot be immediately placed with a friend or family member.
- $6.6 million spent. Mental Health offers therapy to children, youth, adults and families in our programs, including traumatized youth in The Cottage and The Haven. Wayfinder remains one of only a handful of organizations in the state that offers mental health services to people with disabilities. Our counselors help clients build skills to cope with vision loss, traumatic experiences, unstable environments, abuse, neglect and more. Wayfinder's community mental health services assist residents in need in Los Angeles, Butte and Placer counties. Our mental health care in the community is focused on preventative services to build resilient individuals and families.
- $13.3 million spent. Families referred to Family Preservation are at risk of having children removed from their home. Through intensive counseling and other services, parents recognize their triggers and learn how to prevent the behaviors that destabilize their family. As a result of Family Preservation, children avoid out-of-home placement or reentry to foster care and can thrive in their nurturing families. This program launched in July 2024 and reflects Wayfinder's commitment to expanding preventive services that can avert the need for crisis intervention.Our Kinship Support Services Program is a kinship navigation service for grandparents, extended family members or close family friends who step up to raise children so they avoid the trauma of separation from their birth family. The program also assists kinship families that form voluntarily, without the assistance of a child welfare agency. Our program offers counseling, assistance with basic needs, support groups and workshops, respite resources and more. Kinship families are more stable, and children maintain their family connections, which produces better long-term outcomes. Our Family Finding services search exhaustively for relatives or people close to children in foster care so they can establish supportive connections. Family finding specialists contact relatives to see if they are interested in phone calls or visits with children in care. Family may not know how to search for the child or even that the child is in foster care. Our specialists coordinate contacts for children and these relatives to build trust and connections so the youth will have a network of caring adults to rely on when they leave foster care. Promoting Safe and Stable Families provides counseling and support to reduce the recurrence of child maltreatment and re-entry into foster care and to increase families' self-sufficiency and positive parenting. The program serves two groups: families that receive intensive services to prevent them from entering the child welfare system and families that receive longer term support as they reunify with a previously removed child. Child and Family Development provides counseling, parent coaching and parenting skills training to birth, adoptive and kinship families whose children are at risk for out-of-home placement due to behavioral, emotional or mental health issues. The program also serves families who have reunified with a child who was previously removed from the home in order to preserve stability and prevent re-entry into out-of-home care.Parents whose children are in foster care receive Supervised Visitation and Coaching services to strengthen parenting skills, enhance parent-child relationships and sustain family ties. Psychosocial Assessment Program assesses resource families, including adoptive families, by completing resource family evaluations within county timeframes.Child Development Services provides early intervention in person to children from birth to age 6 with visual impairment or multiple disabilities. Young children maximize any vision they have and reduce developmental delays. Parents learn to provide their child with therapeutic stimulation and advocate for their child's education and care. Child development reduces the need for special education and increases independence for children with disabilities. Our Special Education School offers children and youth, ages 5 to 22, who are visually impaired or have moderate-to-severe disabilities a safe, positive environment for learning and growth. In the least restrictive environment in our state-certified, non-public school, teachers develop students' communication, mobility and functional skills to increase their independence. Camp Bloomfield provides children and youth who are blind, visually impaired or multi-disabled with memorable experiences in the outdoors. Our camp program offers activities adapted for children of all ages and abilities that develop self-esteem and build independence. Also, Wayfinder offers sports, recreation and outdoor adventures that are adapted for children and teens with disabilities.In Transition Services, teenagers and young adults ages 16 to 25 from across California who are blind or visually impaired explore careers and successfully transition to independent living, college or the workforce. Participants learn assistive technology, independent living, and orientation and mobility (white cane and safe travel) skills. They participate in college-access activities, develop leadership skills, learn job-seeking skills and increase their independence. The program offers weekend workshops and a four-week, in-person summer program in classrooms and dorms on the Cal State Los Angeles campus. The Davidson Program for Independence on Wayfinder's Los Angeles campus and the Hatlen Center for the Blind in Sacramento in Northern California are comprehensive residential rehabilitation programs for adults ages 18 and older who are blind or visually impaired, many with recent vision loss. Participants learn assistive technology, orientation and mobility, braille, and independent living skills. Each client pursues individualized goals that lead to a confident transition to an independent life and education or employment.Assistive Technology Training provides instruction on the latest assistive technology devices and software for success in today's job market to adults with vision loss, ages 18 and older. Employment Services teaches adults who are blind or visually impaired the skills they need to join or rejoin the workforce. Participants attend training on our L.A. campus, remotely, or in person in their homes. They receive assessments, training and job placement, as well as coaching and instruction in orientation and mobility to find and keep jobs. Clients emerge as competitive candidates in the workforce. Also, Wayfinder helps employers adapt workspaces to increase accessibility. Wayfinder's Older Individuals who are Blind program provides adults ages
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 October 13, 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 November 1954.
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 October 21, 2026.
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