Center for Community Alternatives

What Center for Community Alternatives does

Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that provides direct social services, advocacy, and community organizing across New York State. Its mission centers on supporting and building power with people affected by mass incarceration, criminalization, and community disinvestment, with service areas spanning youth programs, court support and sentencing mitigation, reentry/housing/employment, outpatient substance use treatment and peer recovery, and trauma recovery services for survivors of interpersonal or community violence.

CCA operates six physical locations (Brooklyn/HQ, two sites in Syracuse including Freedom Commons, Rochester, and White Plains), plus facility-based programming inside the Onondaga County Correctional Facility and school-based services in Syracuse and Rochester. Programmatic infrastructure includes the Trauma Recovery Center, NYC Wellness Center (with methadone treatment), Healing Center (Healing Center supported by a $1.2M NYC Council grant), Seeds to Roots Youth Action Center in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Freedom Commons permanent and transitional housing, and the CORE and CUSE peer-led recovery centers. Adjunct offerings include the Youth Action Leadership Council (launched 2023), construction trades training through partnerships with OCM BOCES, Syracuse University, and building trades unions, and healthcare career training with anchor employer placement. Quantifiable outcomes cited include 92% of participants describing Interactive Journaling as helpful and completers being 10 times more likely to engage in employment.

The revenue model is donations and government grants, with services provided free to clients. CCA runs six concurrent advocacy campaigns (Justice Roadmap, Clean Slate, Communities Not Cages, No Price On Justice, The Court New York Deserves, Youth Justice), the most notable being the Clean Slate win that sealed old conviction records in New York. Leadership is headed by Executive Director David Condliffe; the organization is governed by an independent board, holds OASAS licensing and CARF International certification for its outpatient and telehealth substance use treatment, and is structured as a standalone nonprofit with no parent company or venture capital involvement.

Name

Center for Community Alternatives

Legal name

Center for Community Alternatives

Website

https://communityalternatives.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Center for Community Alternatives is a Brooklyn-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1981 that delivers reentry, housing, employment, treatment and recovery, and trauma recovery services across New York State while running major criminal legal system reform campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services / Criminal Justice Reform

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities (62322)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry & Justice-Involved Support Services (BPAGAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO), Adult Corrections (Prisons & Jails) (BPAIAFAD), Correctional Health, Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services (In-Custody) (BPAKANAG)

Keywords

• Reentry support services
• Alternatives to incarceration
• Trauma recovery services
• Youth justice programs
• Criminal justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Individual and organizational donations support CCA's programs and operations, enabling the organization to provide free services to clients.
2. Government Grants: CCA receives government funding, such as the $1.2M grant from the New York City Council to support the Healing Center, to fund specific programs and services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Center for Community Alternatives provides free, direct social services to people in New York State affected by mass incarceration, criminalization, and community disinvestment. Its core offerings include court advocacy and alternatives-to-incarceration programs, reentry housing and employment support, youth leadership and violence-prevention programs, outpatient substance use and medication-assisted treatment, trauma recovery services for survivors of violence, and legislative advocacy campaigns to decarcerate New York.

Product overview

Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) is a nonprofit social services organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of programs and advocacy campaigns across New York State. The organization operates multiple service areas including Support for Young People, Support for People Who Have Been Arrested or Incarcerated, Reentry/Housing/Employment, Treatment & Recovery, Support for People Harmed by Violence, and Community Organizing & Advocacy. Key program facilities include the Seeds to Roots Youth Action Center, CORE Center (Rochester), CUSE Center (Syracuse), Trauma Recovery Center, NYC Wellness Center, and Freedom Commons housing. CCA also runs six major advocacy campaigns: Justice Roadmap, Clean Slate, Communities Not Cages, No Price On Justice, The Court New York Deserves, and Youth Justice. The organization does not operate as a technology platform but provides direct community services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CORE Center: Peer-led recovery support services for youth and adults in Rochester and Monroe County
• CUSE Center
• Freedom Commons
• Brooklyn Wellness Center
• Trauma Recovery Center
• Seeds to Roots Youth Action Center
• Healing Center
• Crossroads to Recovery

Products and services

• Support for Young People

Quantifiable outcome

• 92% of individuals described Interactive Journaling as helpful, and those that completed were 10 times more likely to engage in employment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Onondaga-Cortland-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (OCM BOCES)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation provider partnership for the Construction Careers program, connecting people returning from incarceration to training programs in electrical, HVAC, plumbing, welding, and other trades through the building trades.
• Syracuse UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner in the Construction Careers program, providing training pathways to help returning citizens access skilled trade jobs.
• Building TradescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with building trades unions to provide apprenticeship and employment pathways for people completing construction training programs.
• Healthcare Anchor Employer PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHealthcare employers providing direct job placement into full and part-time positions for Healthcare Career Training graduates. Employers also provide coaching and mock interviews to prepare job seekers for current openings.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): National nonprofit providing immediate, paid transitional employment and reentry support to people returning from incarceration. Closely comparable to CCA's reentry, employment, and workforce services, including justice-involved populations and similar funder/government relationships.
• The Fortune Society: New York City-based nonprofit offering alternatives to incarceration, reentry support, housing, and employment services. Highly comparable to CCA's holistic service model, with overlapping client base of justice-involved individuals and similar advocacy role.
• Osborne Association: New York-based nonprofit providing services in prisons and to formerly incarcerated people, including alternatives to incarceration, reentry, family support, and advocacy. Comparable to CCA across reentry, court advocacy, and facility-based programming.
• Exodus Transitional Community: NYC reentry nonprofit offering housing, employment readiness, mentoring, and advocacy for formerly incarcerated individuals. Directly comparable to CCA's reentry/housing/employment portfolio with shared geography and justice-involved mission.
• Center for Justice Innovation: National nonprofit (formerly Center for Court Innovation) that pilots alternatives-to-incarceration programs and works inside courts. Closely aligned with CCA's alternatives-to-incarceration, court advocacy, and criminal-legal system reform work.

Broad incumbents

• Vera Institute of Justice: National research and reform organization working to end mass incarceration and advance justice reform. Comparable to CCA on the advocacy and policy-campaign side, but operates at a much larger national scale and through research/technical assistance rather than direct services.
• The Sentencing Project: National research and advocacy organization focused on reducing the use of incarceration and addressing racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Comparable to CCA on sentencing reform advocacy (Communities Not Cages) and broader decarceration campaigns, though without direct services.

Regional players

• Legal Aid Society: New York City's primary provider of free legal services in civil and criminal matters, including record-sealing and reentry legal support. Comparable to CCA's conviction-record legal services and court advocacy, with overlapping client base but a broader legal-services mandate.
• Bronx Defenders: New York public-defender organization practicing holistic, client-centered defense that integrates social-work support, advocacy, and community organizing. Comparable to CCA's integrated advocacy-plus-direct-services model and justice-involved client base in NYC.

Emerging players

• Drug Policy Alliance: National advocacy organization advancing drug policy reform, decriminalization, and harm reduction. Comparable to CCA's substance use treatment/recovery and Clean Slate-style advocacy work, but with a national, policy-focused mandate rather than direct service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cca_ny
• Facebookfacebook.com/communityalternatives
• Instagraminstagram.com/ccalternatives

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for Community Alternatives