California · Nonprofit
DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER
DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER (California) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $151,741 to it, the largest being California Access to Justice Commission ($42,500). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $4.8M
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $152k
- Net assets
- $2.0M
What Dependency Advocacy Center does
Mission
Dependency Advocacy Center (dac) provides zealous legal representation to indigent clients in the juvenile dependency system to promote timely reunification and preservation of families in a safe, healthy environment. Dac believes that every parent and (cont. On schedule o) child entering the dependency system has a right to be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
First call for families:first call for families is an interdisciplinary program run by dac. The goal of first call is to prevent children from being removed by cps and becoming involved in the formal child welfare court system. The program's mission is to advocate for thriving, intact families rooted in strong communities. The program is comprised of three components: - through know your rights presentations, the first call team provides information to families about their rights and responsibilities before, during, and after the removal of a child by cps. - the first call warm line is a toll-free phone number for families to call for support, basic advice, and/or referrals within the community. - first call may also provide more (continued on schedule o) individualized support for families who require more support than our other services provide. This may include services such as peer support, case management, and legal advice before a court case begins.the first call for families team is an interdisciplinary team comprised of an attorney, mentor parents, and a social worker. The attorney is the leader team. They provide legal advice and limited legal assistance, including on…
$1,854,820 spent44% of program spendingMentor parent program:in concert with the legal services it provides, dac employs peer mentors, a clinical supervisor, and a program director through its mentor parent program. Mentors are parents who have had their children removed because of drug and alcohol abuse, participated in recovery programs, and then successfully reunited with their children prior to having their cases dismissed. The mentors serve as role models to clients currently involved in the child welfare system and help guide and inspire them through the dependency court process. They are instrumental in encouraging clients to promptly and actively enroll in treatment programs to have their children returned as soon as possible. Dac's mentor parent program has received (continued on schedule o) commendations from the santa clara county board of supervisors and the san jose city council. Dac's mentor parents have been featured speakers at both statewide and national conferences. Dac continues to provide training and technical support to other california counties that are beginning to implement mentoring programs in their jurisdictions. The mentors are involved in various committees with santa clara county's…
$864,243 spent21% of program spendingDependency court program:Dependency Advocacy Center (dac) is a california nonprofit public benefit corporation serving indigent parents and children involved in the juvenile dependency system in santa clara county, california. Dac's primary activity is the provision of court-appointed legal representation, free of charge, to indigent parents and children in juvenile dependency court in santa clara county. In santa clara county, when a child is at risk of abuse or neglect, or when there are substantiated allegations of such, the department of family and children services files a petition with the court requesting that the child either be removed from the home or remain in the home with court supervision. Approximately 60 percent of (continued on schedule o) these petitions include allegations of parental substance abuse, and many include allegations of intimate partner violence, mental health issues, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or general neglect. Each parent is entitled to an attorney if they request one. If the parent is indigent, the court appoints an attorney for that parent at no cost to the parent. The child is also appointed an attorney, frequently at no cost to the…
$224,261 spent5% of program spendingIn 2017, dac formed a collaborative partnership with santa clara county's probation department out of a county wide initiative to strengthen systems of care for children and families impacted by incarceration. Dac and probation are working together to improve self-sufficiency outcomes for pregnant and/or custodial parents of children who have or had criminal justice system involvement to minimize multiple system involvement (both criminal justice and child welfare), support family reunification, and prevent reentry for this at-risk population. Two populations are served by the corridor program: parents with criminal justice histories with open juvenile dependency cases, and parents with criminal justice histories who are at risk of having an open juvenile dependency court case. Dac's service utilizes a specialized multi-disciplinary team comprised of an attorney, social worker, and mentor parent. Services include: legal services to those parents involved in santa clara county's child welfare system; providing support, guidance, and motivation to those parents whose children have been or are currently at risk of being removed from their care; advocating on behalf of clients and…
$1,267,560 spent30% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,210,884.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2019 to 2020, from $1.0M to $1.8M (+76%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 14% · 2018 25% · 2019 29% · 2020 33% · 2021 43% · 2022 39% · 2023 100% · 2024 98% · 2025 99%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
99% of DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (93% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Dana Bunnett
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2022 and FY2023 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2018 → 2023: the base narrowed from 3 funders to 2 funders, grant income fell $43k → $10k.
3 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 18% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER leans on a few funders — its largest provides 28% of grant income and the top three 74%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
79% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 94% · 2019 68% · 2020 99% · 2021 98% · 2022 100% · 2023 99% — growing more concentrated.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
29% of DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 22% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
100% of DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $27k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER's revenue grew 67% between 2017 and 2025.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 793 crime & legal nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Organizations like DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
89% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
100%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER?
- DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER (California) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $151,741 to it, the largest being California Access to Justice Commission ($42,500). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $151,741 in grants to DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER?
- California Access to Justice Commission is the largest funder on record, with $42,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DEPENDENCY ADVOCACY CENTER find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Dependency Advocacy Center →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 9 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing