Skip to content
Nonprofiteer
← All organizations

COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF MORRIS AND SUSSEX COUNTIES INC

EIN 22-3123157 CEDAR KNOLLS, NJ

Browse the largest nonprofits in New Jersey

Revenue 2024
$1,238,926
Expenses 2024
$1,039,117

Program services were 73.3% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

As filed

Subsection
03
NTEE code
R200
Classification
1000
Street
222 RIDGEDALE AVENUE

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Other organizations at this address

1 other organization in the IRS Business Master File lists the same street address. matched by us

We match the street line and ZIP code as the IRS gives them, ignoring case and outer spaces and nothing else, so "AVE" and "AVENUE" count as different streets and this list can miss some. A shared address can mean related organizations or a shared office, but it can also be a registered agent, a mail drop or a service provider holding mail for unrelated clients. It is not, by itself, evidence that two organizations are connected.

Mission and programs · 2024

Mission

OUR MISSION IS TO BE A STRONG VOICE FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF VULNERABLE CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THEIR HOMES OR ARE UNDER COURT SUPERVISION DUE TO ABUSE, NEGLECT, OR ABANDONMENT. WE RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND SUPERVISE COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS TO BE ADVOCATES, MENTORS, AND CHAMPIONS FOR EACH CHILD ON HIS OR HER JOURNEY TO A SAFE, PERMANENT, AND NURTURING HOME.

  • CASA IS THE ONLY COURT-AUTHORIZED ADVOCACYY PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE IN MORRIS AND SUSSEX COUNTIES. WE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO BRING CHILDREN BETTER TOMORROWS:CHILD ADVOCACY:IN THIS CORE PROGRAM, CHILDREN WHO ARE VICTIMS OF ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND ABANDONMENT, AND LIVING IN FOSTER HOMES, OR RESIDENTIAL CENTERS ARE ASSIGNED TO TRAINED VOLUNTEERS FOR ADVOCACY IN THE FAMILY COURT SYSTEM. THE COLUNTEER ADVOCATES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN GATHERING INFORMATION ON EACH CHILD, ORGANIZING IT FOR THE COURT, AND MAKING INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COURT ON THE NEXT STEPS NECESSARY TO ENSURE SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES. THE VOLUNTEERS WORK TO PROVIDE A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR EACH CHILD WITH EDUCATIONAL, MEDICALM AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORTS, RESOURCES, AND SERVICES TO ENSURE THAT EACH CHIL IS IN A SAFE, NURTURING, AND PERMANENT HOME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THROUGHOUT EACH CASE, VOLUNTEERS ARE SUPERVISED BY CASA STAFF.VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING:THIS PROGRAM'S PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE A STEADY STREAM OF COMMITTED CITIZENS FROM OUR COMMUNITY TO ACT AS ADVOCATES WITHIN THE FAMILY COURT SYSTEM FOR THE BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE. POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS ATTEND INFORMATION SESSIONS TO HEAR ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN, AND THE CASA MISSION. THE CANDIDATES CONTINUE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWS, BACKGROUND CHECKS, VOLUNTEER SELECTION, 36 HOURS OF TRAINING, AND SWEARING-IN CEREMONIES THAT ARE PRESIDED OVER BY FAMILY COURT JUDGES. ONCE SWORIN, EACH TRAINEE IS APPROVED TO RECEIVE A CASE ASSIGNMENT.FOSTERING FUTURES (FF):THE FF PROGRAM'S GOAL IS TO OFFER MENTORING AND ADVOCACY SERVICES WHILE EMPOWERING YOUTH, AGES 14 TO 21, TO TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES BEYOND THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM. SINCE 2014 THIS HAS BEEN AN ESSENTIAL PROGRAM WHERE SPECIALLY TRAINED VOLUNTEER MENTORS WORK WITH YOUTH TO INVESTIGATE THEIR NEEDS, IDENTIFY ASPIRATIONS, AND DEVELOP A PLAN TO ACHEIVE GOALS AND SKILLS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING. EACH MENTOR IS SUPERVISED BY STAFF FF PROGRAM CASE SUPERVISORS FOR THE DURATION OF EACH CASE.

    Expenses $761,694

As filed on the 2024 return.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

  • Lisa Firkser

    Executive Dir.

    Total calculated
    $202,497
    From this org
    $195,610
    From related orgs
    $0
    Other
    $6,887
    Hours/week
    50

    Schedule J breakdown matched by us

    Base
    $145,610
    Bonus
    $50,000
    Other
    not reported
    Deferred
    $887
    Nontaxable benefits
    $6,000
    Filer's total
    $202,497
  • Adam Cossman

    President

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Regina Farlekas

    Vice President

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Robert Jones

    Treasurer

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Amy Vaccaro

    Secretary

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Sandra Fava Esq

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Noreen M Fierro Esq

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Michael B Kanef

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Gonzalo Garcia-Kenny

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Heidi Oshima

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Stephen Weinstein Esq

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Drew Blind

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Mark Shemtob

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2
  • Susan Sheiner

    Trustee

    Total calculated
    $0
    Hours/week
    2

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

  • 2024
    Revenue
    $1,238,926
    Expenses
    $1,039,117
    Contributions
    $1,001,212
    Grants paid
    $0
  • 2023
    Revenue
    $1,305,437
    Expenses
    $969,796
    Contributions
    $1,132,578
    Grants paid
    $0
  • 2022
    Revenue
    $937,218
    Expenses
    $905,865
    Contributions
    $921,077
    Grants paid
    $0

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

  • 2021 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,835,673
    Expenses
    $948,432
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,806,055
  • 2020 · 990

    Revenue
    $1,276,323
    Expenses
    $766,999
    Assets (EOY)
    $2,144,476
  • 2019 · 990

    Revenue
    $980,535
    Expenses
    $768,323
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,659,582
  • 2018 · 990

    Revenue
    $884,402
    Expenses
    $737,074
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,352,353
  • 2017 · 990

    Revenue
    $837,438
    Expenses
    $704,493
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,192,290
  • 2016 · 990

    Revenue
    $767,115
    Expenses
    $673,566
    Assets (EOY)
    $1,066,796
  • 2015 · 990

    Revenue
    $764,820
    Expenses
    $585,333
    Assets (EOY)
    $963,595
  • 2014 · 990

    Revenue
    $768,387
    Expenses
    $578,739
    Assets (EOY)
    $795,096
  • 2013 · 990

    Revenue
    $699,570
    Expenses
    $502,013
    Assets (EOY)
    $560,274
  • 2012 · 990

    Revenue
    not reported
    Expenses
    $480,309
    Assets (EOY)
    $372,093

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Other IRS files

Auto-Revocation List

Not listed. The IRS publishes this list for organizations whose exemption was automatically revoked for failing to file for three consecutive years.

Publication 78

Listed as of 13 October 2026, under deductibility PC.

These are two separate IRS files on two separate schedules, shown as published and not reconciled with each other. Neither is a statement about whether a contribution is deductible today: 19,245 organizations appear in Publication 78 while the IRS's own revocation file lists them as currently revoked, more than half of those revoked before 2019. Absence from Publication 78 is evidence of nothing, and presence is not evidence either. Verify current status with the IRS before relying on it.

What this page reflects

The registration facts above come from the IRS Business Master File published 13 October 2026 and read 1 November 2026, for every organization at once. Returns through tax year 2024, the newest we have parsed for this organization.