AnnMarie McDowell, President & CEO, CORA Services

In an interview with Invest:, AnnMarie McDowell, president and CEO of social services provider CORA Services, discussed the not-for-profit’s holistic approach to supporting Philadelphia’s youth through education, behavioral health, and community programs. “We bridge systems that typically operate in isolation to address the intersecting needs of the whole child,” McDowell said.

How does CORA Services’ mission empower children, young people, and families to thrive? 

There’s both a personal and professional reason behind my commitment to this work. Personally, Philadelphia is my home. I live here, I’ve raised my own children here, and I care deeply about this city. The city has many wonderful resources for children, but it still lacks many of those critical resources children need to thrive. Professionally, CORA is uniquely positioned to fill those gaps. What sets CORA apart is the breadth of our services, supporting children from multiple perspectives, including behavioral health, youth development, education, and community-based services, to name a few.

We are not confined to a single location. In fact, we are spread across approximately 88% of Philadelphia ZIP codes, operating in over 250 schools, including charter, non-public, and public schools. Our approach is holistic, not just focusing on education but also addressing needs before and after school, parental support, emergency funding to prevent homelessness, case management, and individualized education plan (IEP) services.

What makes CORA unique is that we integrate academic and behavioral health services within schools. Educators are trained to teach, but when children face academic, behavioral, or developmental challenges, those issues often overlap, and we work to address them through a holistic, integrated approach. Typically, these systems operate in isolation, but at CORA, we bridge them to support the whole child.

Because we are deeply engaged across the city, we see firsthand what works and what doesn’t in education and social services. That allows us to advocate effectively at the city level. That is why I am passionate about this work and why CORA excels in this space.

How is CORA Services educating young professionals to develop a stronger workforce and a professional community?

These are distinct but interconnected areas. On the academic side, we provide critical support directly in schools. For instance, in charter schools, we offer psychological evaluations, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology. These supports are designed for students with IEPs, ranging from those with speech impediments to children with severe communication challenges, including those requiring assistive devices for nonverbal students.

In non-public schools, we operate under Pennsylvania’s Act 89 to provide similar services to students who do not have IEP protections. We serve nearly 80 non-public schools, including Hebrew, Catholic, Christian, and other specialized private institutions, ensuring that all children can access the support they need to succeed academically.

On the behavioral health side, we are Philadelphia’s largest provider of behavioral health assessments, conducting over 1,000 Student Assistance Program (SAP) evaluations annually. These assessments examine 26 to 30 variables that may impact a child’s well-being, from trauma and mental health concerns to exposure to community violence, and help connect families with the appropriate resources.

We also provide Intensive Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) in approximately 25 schools, offering school and in-home therapeutic support and behavioral health technicians for children with severe needs. Through our truancy case management program, we partner with the School District of Philadelphia and charter schools to address chronic absenteeism. We’ve witnessed an increase in truancy among younger students, as early as grades three and four. We often see that absenteeism at this age is linked to housing instability or family crises. Our goal is to intervene early and prevent children from entering the Department of Human Services’ system by addressing root causes, such as helping with emergency rent or utility assistance.

Finally, when it comes to workforce development, we run extensive work-ready programs. Middle schoolers explore careers through stipend-based programs, including college tours and exposure to the trades. High-school students gain hands-on experience through six-week work placements, complemented by professional development, financial literacy training, and university visits. These initiatives are embedded in our after-school and summer programs to help prepare young people for future careers.

What trends are reshaping the nonprofit sector and childcare services at the moment, and how is CORA Services adapting?

Since COVID, we have witnessed a major shift in the nonprofit sector. During the pandemic, funding distribution to nonprofits changed significantly. Initially, we were instructed to shut everything down. I don’t want to dwell too long on COVID, but it’s an important context for understanding where CORA is today. In the wake of the shutdown, funding opportunities expanded dramatically to support children’s services, as well as other social service sectors. Many nonprofits accepted federal funding at the time. At CORA, we made a deliberate choice to limit our reliance on temporary emergency federal funding, knowing that short-term federal funding would eventually disappear, leaving organizations to fill those gaps. However, we did accept a small amount of emergency funds out of necessity to maintain services for families.

Post-COVID, we’ve observed tighter compliance standards, more regulations, and increased difficulty accessing revenue. Like many industries, including our health systems, much of our funding operates on a fee-for-service model, meaning we deliver services first and get paid later for our direct care. However, the rules around how those funds are disbursed have shifted, including changes to what expenses are allowable under each contract. From a business perspective, we’ve had to continuously adjust how we record and invoice for services. Each adjustment requires an infrastructure shift. We currently manage about 50 contracts, each with its own unique funding mechanisms, making it increasingly difficult to secure 100% of our funding.

Another significant and nationwide challenge is the delay in payment processing. Unless a nonprofit has a substantial endowment or significant cash reserves, it often ends up financing service costs for up to six months before receiving reimbursement. Since COVID, those payment delays have grown longer, driven by evolving compliance regulations. Even with cash reserves, CORA may have $7 million in receivables while also carrying a $3 million line of credit to cover the delays. Rising interest rates have compounded this issue. Our interest costs have quadrupled since before the pandemic. And with today’s economic instability, banks are increasingly hesitant to extend increased lines of credit because of current market volatility.

As a result, many nonprofits are now closing their doors or divesting parts of their operations. CORA is also facing difficult decisions about prioritizing mission-driven work while ensuring financial sustainability. For the first time in my tenure as CEO, mission and business decisions are not aligned because we cannot afford to operate certain needed and core mission programs effectively under current funding constraints. Given economic uncertainty and potential impacts from federal and state budgets, we are considering relinquishing nearly $3 million in contracts, which would affect the children we serve and the employment across our 600-person workforce.

Philanthropic giving has also declined. While major donors are contributing more, the number of individual donors is declining. This creates challenges for building unrestricted reserves or supplementing services with additional funding.

To navigate these trends, we are approaching growth through a highly strategic lens. Launching new service lines in the nonprofit sector lacks the financial cushion of for-profit research and development. It typically takes two to three years for a new program to reach financial stability, but because our reimbursement rates are dictated by funders, we don’t have the flexibility to establish our own pricing. Without startup capital, every investment must be carefully weighed. As a result, we do not anticipate significant growth in the next few years. Hiring has also become more difficult across industries, and since our revenue depends on staffing, this presents additional challenges.

Because of these sustainability concerns, we are assessing which service lines to maintain or discontinue, even if they align with our mission. Partnerships are being explored in new ways, and we remain cautious about growth opportunities, as timing is critical when doors open.

What is on the agenda in terms of offering new programs and services?

One major initiative we are piloting in 2025 focuses on early childhood education. Advocacy efforts are intensifying to improve the resources placed in this sector, and we expect two possible outcomes: either the number of providers will continue to diminish, forcing systemic action, and/or meaningful reforms will emerge. In Pennsylvania, inclusion services for children aged 3 to 5 with behavioral health needs, autism, or individualized education plans are underdeveloped.

Six years ago, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, we piloted an inclusion model for children with autism. Despite COVID-related disruptions, the program has demonstrated remarkable outcomes. Nonverbal children are now communicating before kindergarten, behavioral challenges like running away or climbing have diminished, and selective eaters are sharing meals with peers. The city’s behavioral health division, Community Behavioral Health, is working with CORA and another provider, SPIN, to expand this model into both schools and after-school programs. The approach emphasizes close collaboration with families, children, and educators. This provides CORA with a significant opportunity to lead in the early childhood inclusion space, as long as we can align the business model with long-term sustainability. The sector is primed for transformation.